The Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing to introduce 500 autonomous city buses by 2030.

Following technology development and testing from 2027 to 2028, the city aims to launch full-scale deployment starting in 2029, establishing an autonomous public transportation system that citizens can use in their daily lives.

Seoul announced today (October 1) that it has signed a business agreement with Hyundai Motor and the Association of Seoul Bus Transport for the commercialization of Level 4 autonomous city buses and the establishment of an industrial ecosystem.

Attendees at the agreement ceremony included Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Hyundai Motor President and Head of AVP Division Park Min-woo, and Kim Jeong-hwan, Chairman of the Association of Seoul Bus Transport. The agreement is effective for three years from the date of signing.

Seoul has previously verified autonomous driving technology on actual roads by operating "Dawn Companion Autonomous Buses" and autonomous taxis.

This time, the focus shifts beyond demonstrations on select routes to introducing autonomous buses into the regular city bus operation system.

First, between 2027 and 2028, the city will develop dedicated autonomous buses and related technologies, share artificial intelligence (AI) learning data, and conduct service demonstrations for citizens.

It will also complete necessary procedures for commercialization, such as autonomous vehicle performance certification.

Starting in 2029, the city will fully establish the deployment and operation system for autonomous city buses, aiming to introduce a total of 500 units by 2030 in connection with the replacement of aging buses.

The plan is to expand the scope of application while verifying vehicle performance and operational safety at each stage.

To this end, Seoul will review and establish policies for the demonstration and regular operation of autonomous city buses.

Hyundai Motor will support the development, manufacturing, supply, and maintenance of dedicated 11-meter buses suitable for applying autonomous driving technology.

It plans to design vehicles so that steering, braking, door opening and closing, and air conditioning can be controlled via electronic signals, while also equipping them with safety features such as core component redundancy and cybersecurity.

In addition, the company agreed to cooperate in developing control platforms and applying vehicle technology for autonomous driving developers, as well as providing open data related to standardization and manufacturing guidelines for dedicated vehicles so that multiple companies can develop and verify technologies based on them.

The Association of Seoul Bus Transport will support member companies in converting their existing regular city buses into autonomous city buses.

It will cooperate in securing personnel and infrastructure necessary for operations, such as test drivers, control operators, garages, and charging facilities, and participate in establishing control and operation plans for autonomous city buses.

The three organizations decided to jointly establish a control and operation system capable of monitoring and managing the operating status of multiple vehicles.

They will also standardize the configuration and installation criteria for lidars and image sensors mounted on vehicles, accumulate data on exceptional situations encountered during driving as well as actual operations, and cooperate within the legal limits to allow companies, research institutes, and universities to utilize standardized data for technology development and verification.

Seoul envisions creating an open industrial ecosystem involving vehicle manufacturers, autonomous driving technology companies, transportation firms, and platform operators, and expanding the autonomous public transportation model tested in Seoul to other cities.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "Seoul, Hyundai Motor, and the bus industry will become one team to connect autonomous driving technology with city bus services used by citizens." He added, "Assuming safe operations, we will step-by-step expand autonomous city buses to enhance citizens' mobility convenience and make Seoul a leading city in autonomous public transportation."

(Photo provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)