SEOUL-- Seoul's reduced late night subway schedule will begin to be normalized from next week, as social distancing rules have been eased amid the prolonged pandemic, the city government said Friday.

Seoul subway trains have been running on a schedule down by up to 20 percent after 10 p.m. since Dec. 24 as part of efforts to stem the fast spread of COVID-19.

Lines 2, 5-9 and Ui LRT will be normalized Monday, followed by Line 4 on March 19 and Line 3 from April, according to the city government, as antivirus business curfews on restaurants, cafes and other multiuse facilities was pushed back by an hour to 11 p.m.

The capital's bus schedules, which had also been scaled back in December, were already normalized this week.

According to the city government, the number of subway and bus users fell by 50.9 percent and 39.3 percent, respectively, in the first week of February compared with the last week of October before the schedule was reduced.

The number recovered to about an 85 percent level from before the schedule reduction after the government pushed back business curfews on multiuse facilities from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Feb. 19.

"The city government will keep monitoring the congestion level of subway trains and take antivirus measures to create a safe public transport environment," Baek Ho, a senior official Seoul's transportation system, said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency