Seoul city bus routes will be overhauled next year. It will be the first full redesign in 23 years since the current route system was created in 2004 under Mayor Lee Myung-bak, when the semi-public bus management system and median bus lanes were introduced.
As subway lines have increased, the focus is on cutting overlapping bus routes and reworking long-distance routes that take four to five hours crossing the downtown. For some sections, the city is also considering introducing "express buses" that stop only at major stops, similar to subway express trains.
◇Bus routes unchanged since 2004… a major overhaul in 23 years
According to the Seoul city government on the 3rd, the city plans to complete a study on the "full overhaul of Seoul city bus route system" by the end of this year. The study, which began in 2024, was originally set to be finished by July this year but was extended by five months.
Accordingly, implementation of the city bus route overhaul, initially targeted for this year, has been pushed back by one year. The move is to reflect new transportation and nighttime economy policies since the launch of the ninth popularly elected administration.
In the second half of the year, the city plans to form a consultative body with local governments in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Gyeonggi and Incheon, and the Metropolitan Transport Commission to adjust routes needed between regions, gather input from residents and academia, and implement the new route system next year.
The core of this overhaul is to improve bus operation efficiency by cutting duplicate routes and excessively long routes. Currently, 396 city bus routes operate in Seoul. Since 2004, urban rail networks, including Subway Line 9, have been expanded, but the city says many bus routes have largely kept their old framework, leading to not a few cases in which subways and buses run along the same corridors.
Long-distance routes are also on the table. The goal is to reduce problems in which a single route runs across multiple parts of Seoul, causing large increases in travel time and irregular headways depending on traffic. By cutting overlapping segments, even with the same fleet, the round-trip time on a route can be shortened, narrowing headways. For passengers, that is expected to reduce wait times and disperse crowds that pack into a single bus.
◇"Express buses" that skip stops… expanding DRT and Autonomous Driving
New operating methods will also be introduced. The most notable is the express bus. It skips some stops and serves only key hubs, aiming to connect major areas faster than regular buses. However, because many of Seoul's bus-only lanes lack overtaking space, the city is considering operating them mainly where overtaking lanes are available rather than on every section.
Demand-responsive transport (DRT), which operates based on passenger requests, is also being considered. Unlike conventional buses that run on fixed routes and timetables, DRT flexibly operates around points where demand arises, filling gaps in the public transit network.
Autonomous driving buses will also be expanded. The city is currently operating autonomous driving public transit on some sections and plans to gradually increase the routes and scale. Initially, the plan is to apply them mainly to median bus-only lanes and during early-morning and late-night hours.
◇"Not so sure" about double-decker buses with higher capacity… concerns over downtown congestion
By contrast, the introduction of double-decker buses initially under review has become uncertain. While they can carry more passengers, the city believes they could actually hinder traffic flow more than regular buses in central Seoul, where the width of bus-only lanes and overtaking space are limited.
The route overhaul is also linked to the city's policy to boost the nighttime economy. Starting in Oct., the city plans to operate late-night "Firefly Buses" connecting major nighttime hotspots and subway stations such as Hongdae, Gwanghwamun, DDP, Myeong-dong and Gangnam. After operations begin, the city will analyze demand and congestion to add buses where demand is high and consider expanding routes in tandem with next year's city bus route overhaul.
A Seoul city official said, "We pushed back the implementation of the city bus route overhaul to reflect new transportation policies and the redesign plan," adding, "We will build a denser public transit network to innovate bus service."