Goyang City begins pilot operation of self-driving buses... Daehwa Station-KINTEX-Sports Stadium circulation

Daehwa Station-KINTEX-Sports Complex circulation… Free operation on weekdays from 10 to 17 p.m.

(Goyang = Yonhap News) Reporter Noh Seung-hyuk = Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, announced that it will begin trial operation of self-driving buses on the 15th and run until the 14th of next month.

Goyang City has been building autonomous driving-based transportation infrastructure through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's smart city development project. Through this pilot operation, we plan to provide citizens with the opportunity to experience the safety and convenience of the technology.

One self-driving bus with a passenger capacity of 19 will be used in the pilot operation, and it will be operated for free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, so any citizen can use it freely.

The operating route starts from Daehwa Station in Ilsanseo-gu and circles KINTEX Station and the Sports Complex. The main stops are Daehwa Station, Ilsan Paik Hospital Entrance, Hyundai Department Store, Hyundai Motor Studio Goyang, KINTEX Station, KINTEX, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, and Sports Complex.

In the future, the city will operate a systematic safety management system before and after operation so that citizens can use the service with peace of mind.

Before driving, we plan to check the status of the vehicle and whether the autonomous driving sensors are operating, and after driving, we plan to continuously improve the system by analyzing driving data and relearning dangerous sections.

In addition, we plan to secure a safe driving environment by preparing a step-by-step response manual in the event of a car breakdown or traffic accident, and comprehensively verify service quality and operational adequacy based on data collected during the trial run.

In particular, we plan to analyze the driving data and usage demand collected during the operation process and use it to establish autonomous public transportation policies, such as establishing a transfer system and introducing paid transportation services.

Based on the results of the pilot operation, the city plans to expand the operation route after the middle of next month.

During additional operations, we plan to increase the convenience of citizens' movement by expanding daytime routes and establishing new late-night routes to provide autonomous transportation services connecting Daehwa Station, Jeongbalsan Station, Daegok Station, and Hwajeong Station.

An official from Goyang City said, "We will closely analyze the operation results and build a more convenient and safer self-driving public transportation service."