A self-driving bus with no steering wheel and no driver's seat will begin regular night service for the first time in South Korea. The bus will run along the Cheonggyecheon stream from Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul to Gwangjang Market, linking downtown tourist attractions with neighborhood shopping streets. City officials expect it to become a new way for residents and tourists to dine, shop and sightsee while taking in the stream's night views.
The Seoul city government said on the 20th that night operation of the Cheonggyecheon self-driving bus, called Cheonggye A01, will start at 7 p.m. on the 22nd. The service shifts from its previous daytime schedule to nights, putting the bus on Seoul's streets after dark.
The route runs 4.8 kilometers round trip from Cheonggye Plaza past the Sewoon Shopping Center at Cheonggye 3-ga to Gwangjang Market at Cheonggye 5-ga. Two vehicles will circulate among 11 stops in both directions from 7 p.m. to 11:50 p.m. on weekdays. Departures from Cheonggye Plaza are scheduled every 30 minutes, nine times a day, with the last bus leaving at 11 p.m. The service does not operate on weekends or public holidays.
Each vehicle seats eight passengers and carries one onboard safety operator. Stop locations and real-time service information are available by searching for "Cheonggye A01" on Naver Map and Kakao Map.
Ahead of the night launch, the city ran a pilot service from Aug. 13 to 31 and reviewed safety with outside experts. The expanded hours draw on about a year of experience operating daytime self-driving buses in the Cheonggyecheon area.
The area around the stream is dense with tourist sites and food alleys, including Gwanghwamun Square, the Bosingak Belfry, the restaurant streets of Jonggak and Gwancheol-dong, the Euljiro commercial district and Gwangjang Market. The city expects the bus to improve nighttime mobility for residents and tourists while helping business in nearby commercial areas.
Rides will be free in the early stage of night operation. Even without a fare, passengers must tag a transit card when boarding. The city plans to begin charging in stages, including a 1,400 won adult fare, to establish self-driving buses as a regular part of public transit.
Seoul is expanding its self-driving bus fleet. Beyond the Cheonggyecheon route, the city operates late-night, early-morning commuter and community-bus-style self-driving services. As of August, 24 self-driving vehicles, including 16 buses, were running across six districts in the city. Cumulative ridership topped 234,000 as of the end of July. On the 1st of this month, the city signed a commercialization agreement with Hyundai Motor and the Seoul Bus Transport Business Association to introduce self-driving technology on regular city buses from 2029 and expand the fleet to 500 vehicles by 2030.
"Night operation of the Cheonggyecheon self-driving bus will do more than let people experience future mobility technology in daily life," said Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the Seoul city government's transportation bureau. "It will offer a new travel experience that conveniently connects the stream's night views with surrounding areas such as Jonggak and Euljiro."