Gyeonggi-do announces nation-wide contest to name "Autonomous Cooperative Driving Bus"

[Smart City Today]

Gyeonggi-do announced a contest for a new name for the "Gyeonggi-do Autonomous Cooperative Driving Bus," which is set to provide a pilot service at Pangyo Techno Valley in December this year.

Hosted by Gyeonggi-do and organized by the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator, the contest was designed to select the name of the “Gyeonggi-do Autonomous Cooperative Driving Bus" that can be easily understood and used by residents and to find out information on the demand for stops on the route."

Gyeonggi-do has been conducting a test run (driving test) on a real road in Pangyo after receiving a temporary operation permit for the autonomous cooperative driving bus from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in July.

During the test run period, only the manager rides in the vehicle and controls the operation status without carrying any passengers.

The operating route is about 5.9km from Pangyo Station to the Gyeonggi Business Growth Center of Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley, and a total of 2,000km test run is planned by November.

Gyeonggi-do plans to conduct a trial operation (free of charge) for a certain period of time for residents from December when the test operation ends and then starts the paid service around April next year.

The method of bus ride is the same as a regular city bus, and the time of use will be arranged every 30 minutes from 6 p.m. to 23:30 p.m. on weekdays and 7:30 p.m. to 18:30 p.m. on weekends.

Bus stop information, bus location information, and arrival times will be provided in real-time through the Gyeonggi-do Bus Information System (BIS).

Any provincial residents can participate in the naming contest of the Gyeonggi-do Autonomous Cooperative Driving Bus. The application form can be downloaded from the Voice of Gyeonggi-do and the Gyeonggi-do Integrated Public Offering website and submitted by e-mail by the 28th.

The received ideas will go through screening by experts and prize money will be awarded to a winner of the grand prize (1 million won), two winners of excellent prizes (500,000 won), and five winners of participation prizes (200,000 won). The results will be released on October 13.

The selected name will be immediately reflected in promotional materials for the official service, and the demand for the stops will be reflected when selecting the final route by comprehensively reviewing other bus routes.

Gyeonggi-do Future Growth Policy Officer Kim Gyu-sik said, “The self-driving bus name contest is to increase understanding and interest in autonomous driving services through communication with residents.” and “We will do our best to ensure that Gyeonggi-do is always at the forefront of service innovation tailored to residents.”