Hyundai Motor and Kia's demand responsive transport (Demand Responsive Transport, DRT) "SHUCLE" completed its pilot project abroad, confirming the possibility of global expansion.
Hyundai Motor and Kia successfully concluded SHUCLE's "Hungary demand responsive transport service pilot project" in Gödöllő, Hungary, on the 31st of last month, and released a video documenting the process.
This pilot project was conducted for about 11 weeks from Aug. 18 to Oct. 31 for residents of the Gödöllő area in Hungary.
Gödöllő is a small city in northern Hungary with a population of under 40,000, and public transportation operations are considered inefficient — five buses cover 12 routes across the entire city. Gödöllő's insufficient public transportation caused long wait times for residents, and customers who found it inconvenient increasingly stopped using public transit, creating a vicious cycle in which the public transportation system gradually deteriorated.
SHUCLE was the most effective solution for Gödöllő's situation.
Unlike conventional public transit that operates on fixed routes, SHUCLE, a demand responsive transport service, generates real-time routes in response to user requests and operates flexibly; based on AI technology, it predicts boarding demand, enabling efficient vehicle dispatch and optimal route driving. Because it runs only the routes needed according to demand, instances of driving without passengers are greatly reduced, contributing to the establishment of an eco-friendly mobility system.
During this pilot operation period, Hyundai Motor and Kia deployed two SHUCLE vehicles, and through a total of 3,138 calls, 2,950 residents used the service.
As a result of introducing SHUCLE, average dispatch wait times that had been about 60 minutes on existing public transportation were reduced by about 90% to about 6 minutes, and local residents said they were grateful to Hyundai Motor Group, noting that without a car or the ability to drive it was difficult to go into town, but now they can go out anytime even without a car.
Hyundai Motor and Kia also released a touching video showing SHUCLE researchers preparing for the pilot project and a grandmother in Gödöllő who feels family warmth through SHUCLE.
The grandmother featured in the video has difficulty walking and does not own a private car, so it is not easy for her to go into town to shop. Her granddaughter, who lives separately, calls SHUCLE for her grandmother, goes to her, and the grandmother spends a happy time shopping in town with her granddaughter.
This pilot project was part of the Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP), led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute (KDI), and aimed to establish a demand responsive transport system in Hungary and expand eco-friendly mobility systems. EIPP is a program launched in 2020 for major partner countries in which public institutions and corporations build partnerships to provide policy and technical advice and support the creation of tangible economic cooperation outcomes.
Kim Soo-young, executive director of the mobility business office at Hyundai Motor and Kia, said the Hungary pilot proved both Gödöllő residents' satisfaction and SHUCLE's operational efficiency, and added that they plan to fully pursue global expansion based on local partnerships following this pilot.
Hyundai Motor and Kia developed the SHUCLE demand responsive transport platform and have collaborated with domestic local governments since 2021 to revitalize public transportation and improve mobility convenience in transport-disadvantaged areas. Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to use this pilot as an opportunity to pursue full-scale service operations across Hungary or in other countries in the future.
[OSEN]