Cheonggyecheon self-driving bus starts operation on Nov. 25

[Smart City Today]

The "electric self-driving bus" equipped with future-oriented design and advanced technology will start operation.

From November 25th, any citizen can board the Cheonggyecheon self-driving bus for free.

Cheonggyecheon is expected to transform into a future transportation attraction in the city center.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government held a "Cheonggyecheon Self-driving Bus Operation Launching Ceremony" at Cheonggye Plaza on the 24th to announce the start of its operation in earnest.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon boarded the self-driving bus as the "first passenger". He traveled about 3.4km from Cheonggye Plaza to Cheonggye Plaza again to check the safe driving situation and encourage officials such as operators.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Seoul City Council Transportation Committee Chairman Park Joong-hwa, Hyundai Motor President and 42dot CEO Song Chang-hyun, and Cheonggye Commercial Chairman Yoo Man-sun and KAIST graduate student Lee Dae-kyu (the winner of the Seoul Self-Driving Challenge in 2021) attended the launching ceremony.

The Cheonggyecheon self-driving bus, which will start operating, was originally designed for the purpose of "self-driving public transportation."

The characteristic of the self-driving bus, which will be introduced this time, is that it is equipped with future-oriented design and technology so that citizens experience self-driving in the city center.

In particular, the ceiling offers a cool view of Cheonggyecheon Stream through a large front window (panorama roof), and future automobile entertainment technology that provides attractions in the car will also be introduced.

For safe boarding, functions such as automatic seat belt recognition and automatic prevention of passengers getting caught were also designed.

The front window is installed high and wide from the passenger's waist position, so they can enjoy a wide view even on the bus.

In addition, a mini-monitor(available from the end of December) for viewing videos and USB ports for each seat and a large screen was installed inside the vehicle, greatly increasing passenger convenience.

Starting with two vehicles on the 25th (Fri), a total of three cars will be implemented every 20 minutes from December 12th.

Two boarding stops are operated on the south side of Cheonggye Plaza (in the direction of Heunginjimun Gate) and in front of Sewoon Shopping Center (in the direction of Cheonggye Plaza).

The operation section is a total of 3.4km, which circulates from Cheonggye Plaza to Sewoon Shopping Center to Cheonggye Plaza plan to extend the operation section to Cheonggye 5-ga by the first half of next year after sufficient safety verification.

The operating hours of the buses are from 09:30 to 16:00 on weekdays, and the operation is temporarily suspended from 12:00 to 13:30, during lunchtime, considering safety.

On Saturdays, it operates without lunchtime from 09:30 to 13:30, and if a weekday is a holiday, it does not operate due to the "Cheonggyecheon Car-Free Street."

If a smartphone app (TAP!) exclusively for self-driving in Seoul is installed, any citizen can ride the self-driving bus.

Boarding is free to provide more citizens with the opportunity to experience self-driving cars.

The TAP! app can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

For the time being, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to cooperate with the operating company 42dot to place information officers at two bus stops to help citizens who are unfamiliar with using smartphones make calls and to support safe boarding.

Baek Ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's urban transportation office, said, "As it is the first self-driving bus operation to be attempted in Cheonggyecheon, where traffic is very complicated, we will focus on safety and upgrade our technology step by step.”, and "We hope that self-driving buses will become a new attraction of Cheonggyecheon and become a center of future transportation where more domestic and foreign tourists visit, enjoy, and experience as well as revitalize local commercial areas."