The Seoul city government said on the 15th that it will begin official service of the Han River bus at 11 a.m. on the 18th.
The Han River bus will make round trips by vessel along seven piers—Magok, Mangwon, Yeouido, Oksu, Apgujeong, Ttukseom, and Jamsil—covering 28.9 kilometers.
In the initial phase of official service, there will be 14 runs a day. They will operate at 1-hour to 1-hour-30-minute intervals from 11 a.m. to 9:37 p.m. daily, based on arrival times.
The Seoul city government plans to steadily increase the number of Han River bus runs after the Chuseok holiday. Starting Oct. 10, weekday runs will increase to 30 round trips. From then, express routes will operate at 15-minute intervals during commuting hours. Weekday service hours are 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and weekends are 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. By year-end, the goal is to expand operations to 12 vessels and 48 runs by adding four to the existing eight.
The fare for the Han River bus is 3,000 won per ride, and transfer discounts with public transit such as the subway and buses are available. If 5,000 won is added to the Climate Companion Card, riders can use it without ride limits. Cash payments are not accepted.
Before official service, the Seoul city government conducted trial runs from 6th to 8th for 5,562 people, including citizens, tourism industry workers, and public officials. According to the city, their satisfaction rate with the Han River bus was 81%.
However, it is unclear whether the Han River bus can serve as "public transportation" that replaces the subway and buses. Travel times have increased compared to the plan. The regular route that stops at all seven piers takes 127 minutes one way. It was initially planned at 75 minutes, an increase of 52 minutes. If the time to reach the pier is added, total travel time inevitably grows.
Park Jin-Young, head of the Future Han River Headquarters at the Seoul city government, said, "We cannot push speed due to the Han River's depth and channel conditions," and added, "We will improve completeness by year-end so it can be an option for commuting as well."