SEOUL • The Seoul metropolitan government has banned the South Korean city's caffeine-loving commuters from bringing takeaway coffee cups on board public buses, according to media reports.

The move aims to make bus travel safer and reduce possibility of disputes, city officials said yesterday, according to Yonhap news agency.

Under a revised ordinance, drivers of public buses are authorised to stop a passenger from boarding the bus if he carries any takeout food cups as well as dirty or ill-smelling products which they deem to compromise the safety of other passengers, reported Yonhap.

Mr Yoo Kwang Sang, a member of the Seoul metropolitan assembly who proposed the ordinance revision, said there had been an increasing number of cases in which commuters spill hot beverages or ice.

"We have seen many disputes involving accidental spilling of coffee or other beverage in takeout cups.

"To prevent this kind of dispute, we need to create a regulation," Mr Yoo was quoted by Yonhap as saying.