Seoul City Announces Expansion Plan for Early Morning Transportation Services

Seoul City has announced a significant expansion of public transportation services for the convenience of citizens during the early morning hours.

On the 21st, Seoul City stated that it plans to operate subway lines 1 to 8 starting at 5 AM, which is 30 minutes earlier than the previous schedule, and to expand the fleet of autonomous buses for the early morning hours to a total of 10 routes by the second half of this year.

Adjustments to subway operating hours are expected to be implemented as early as August.

Currently, city buses depart around 4 AM, but the subway’s first train runs relatively late, making transfers difficult. This adjustment aims to improve that situation. However, to secure maintenance time for the subway, the last train will also be adjusted to depart 30 minutes earlier.

Seoul City plans to continuously deploy autonomous buses on crowded routes during early morning hours, considering the limitations of increasing the number of buses during times when it is hard to secure drivers. This decision is made to facilitate the commuting of essential workers, such as sanitation workers and security personnel, who need to travel in the early morning.

Expansion of Autonomous Bus Operations to Enhance Early Morning Transportation Services

The 'Early Morning Companion Autonomous Bus (A160)', which began operations last November, has successfully established itself by surpassing 10,000 cumulative users in just six months.

Route A160 departs from Dobongsan Transfer Center at 3:30 AM on weekdays and operates a distance of 25.7 km, passing through Ssangmun Station, Mia Intersection, Jongno, Gongdeok Station, Yeouido Transfer Center, and Yeongdeungpo Station.

Based on this success, Seoul City plans to add autonomous buses to three additional routes this coming second half of the year: △Sanggye to Express Bus Terminal (Shortened Route 148) △Geumcheon (Gasan) to Seoul Station (Shortened Route 504) △Eunpyeong to Yangjae Station (Shortened Route 741), with plans to extend to a total of 10 routes.

Areas without autonomous bus service will be supplemented by adjustments to subway operating hours. This adjustment is expected to significantly enhance connectivity between buses and the subway.

As this adjustment applies only to the Seoul area, Seoul City plans to negotiate with transportation agencies in the metropolitan area, such as Korea Railroad Corporation and Airport Railway, to extend these adjustments to regions like Gyeonggi Province that are part of the Seoul living area. Furthermore, there are plans to focus on deploying autonomous buses during late-night and early morning hours to establish a "24-hour uninterrupted public transportation service."

Lee Jang-gwon, the Director of Transportation at Seoul City, stated, "This adjustment of subway operating hours reflects our empathy for the difficulties faced by citizens using public transportation in the early morning and our commitment to travel together.” He added, "We will continue to work so that public transportation can become a true 'citizen's foot' that closely observes the lives of our citizens."

Seoul City’s current plan to expand public transportation is expected to greatly improve the commuting convenience for workers engaged in essential jobs during early morning hours.

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