Seoul city said on the 29th it will deploy Autonomous Driving buses on the Gupabal–Yangjae section. They are dawn companion Autonomous Driving buses that depart 30 minutes earlier than the first regular city bus. For the first time in the country, they will operate the entire section in Autonomous Driving without any test driver manipulation.
The new dawn companion autonomous bus route is A741. On weekdays (Mon.–Fri.), it departs from Gupabal Station on the subway, passes through Gwanghwamun Station, Sinsa Station, and Gangnam Station, and runs one round trip over a 23.5 km section to Yangjae Station.
A741 stops at only 34 of the 64 stops on the existing No. 741 route where first-bus usage is high. It is expected that the one-way travel time will be shortened by 20 minutes compared with stopping at every stop.
Starting Jan. 26 this year, the government allowed Autonomous Driving even in child, senior, and disabled protection zones. Accordingly, A741 will operate in Autonomous Driving without manual driving over the entire section, including a 0.8 km stretch near Nokbeon Station and Muakjae Station.
Seoul city plans to operate the service free of charge for the time being until it stabilizes. However, passengers must tag their transit card when boarding and alighting, the same as on regular city buses. For safety reasons, standing is prohibited, and passengers will not be boarded if no seats remain.
Earlier, in Nov. 2024, Seoul city launched the Autonomous Driving bus A160 running between Dobongsan Station and Yeongdeungpo Station. Over 15 months, A160 carried a cumulative total of about 27,600 passengers, and no accidents occurred. Commuters made up most A160 users at 96.2%. Those in their 50s and older accounted for 85.4%, and manual laborers for 66.2%.
Seoul city plans to add more Autonomous Driving buses on crowded dawn routes. By Apr. this year, it plans to establish Autonomous Driving bus routes for No. 148, which runs between Sanggye and Express Bus Terminal, and No. 504, which runs between Geumcheon District Office and Gwanghwamun.