Seoul to Convert 500 City Buses to Autonomous Operation by 2030

[Financial News]  Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to operate 500 autonomous city buses by 2030. The plan goes beyond pilot services, including the Saebyeokdonghaeng Autonomous Bus currently operating on some routes, to apply autonomous driving technology fully to regular city bus services. Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 30th that it would sign a three-year memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Motor and the Seoul Metropolitan Bus Operators Association at Seoul City Hall on the 1st. The agreement will remain in effect for three years.
Under the agreement, the three organizations will jointly pursue the development of dedicated autonomous buses, technology demonstrations and actual city bus operations. Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to develop vehicles and autonomous driving technology and conduct public demonstrations in 2027 and 2028 before deploying autonomous vehicles on regular city bus routes from 2029. The fleet will then be expanded to 500 buses by 2030 in conjunction with the replacement of aging buses.
The key objective is to develop dedicated city buses designed for autonomous driving rather than converting existing vehicles. Hyundai Motor will develop, manufacture and supply dedicated 11-meter-class buses that can control everything from steering and braking to door opening and closing and climate control through electronic signals. The buses will also be equipped with safety features such as redundancy for critical components and cybersecurity protection.
Once Hyundai Motor provides the vehicle platform, domestic autonomous driving companies will apply their own artificial intelligence (AI) software. Hyundai Motor will make materials related to standardization and manufacturing guidelines for the dedicated vehicles available and will also support the development of a control platform and the integration of technologies from autonomous driving companies.
Seoul Metropolitan Government will establish systems and policies for regular operations. It will devise a plan to switch to autonomous vehicles as aging city buses are replaced and consult with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), on the regulatory improvements needed for commercialization.
Existing infrastructure in the bus industry will be used for actual operations. The Seoul Metropolitan Bus Operators Association will support bus operators in securing personnel and infrastructure, including safety drivers, control-center operators, depots and charging facilities, so they can operate autonomous vehicles. Experience with scheduling, maintenance, charging and safety management for existing city buses will also be applied to autonomous bus operations.
Seoul Metropolitan Government also plans to make operational data collected from autonomous city buses available to domestic companies. It will standardize the configuration and installation requirements for LiDAR, cameras and other sensors installed on the vehicles while accumulating data on various unexpected and exceptional situations encountered on actual roads. Within the scope permitted by relevant laws, companies, research institutes and universities will be able to use the data for AI training and technology validation.
Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently testing the technology on actual roads through services such as the Saebyeokdonghaeng Autonomous Bus, which helps early-morning workers commute, and autonomous taxis. The city plans to expand autonomous driving services beyond pilots on individual routes into public transportation that residents use in their daily lives.
Oh Se-hoon, mayor of Seoul, said, "Seoul Metropolitan Government, Hyundai Motor and the bus industry will work as one team to connect autonomous driving technology with city bus services used by residents." He added, "We will gradually expand autonomous city bus services, with safe operations as our top priority."

[email protected] Seong Cho-rong Reporter