As host city for the ITS World Congress in October, the city of Gangneung, Korea, is demonstrating its plans to implement cutting-edge mobility technology by providing autonomous driving technology and demand-responsive services for its 200,000 citizens.
The city has launched a trial of demand-responsive buses, the “City Call Bus”, which is billed as a concept somewhere between a conventional taxi and a village bus service, says Korean broadcasting service SBS.
In July of last year, Gangneung introduced the autonomous Masil buses to under-served remote routes within the region. Autonomous vehicles were deployed on the Masil bus routes to resolve public mobility blind spots using cutting-edge technology.
Passengers were able to hail a Masil bus via a QR code or by calling a call center, receiving an enthusiastic response.
Following the operation of autonomous Masil buses, Gangneung has now embarked on a free demonstration project for City Call Buses. Two 12-seater buses have been deployed, operating across two routes: from Anmok Beach to the Yeongok-myeon Office, and from Gangmun Beach to the Gangneung Arena.
When passengers call a bus through a dedicated app or the call center, up to 12 people can board.
Operating free of charge daily from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, passengers can board and alight only at designated stops where existing city tour buses operate, distinguishing it from call taxis.
This complimentary demonstration began as a follow-up measure to the agreement on the operation of autonomous demand-responsive transport systems in transport-vulnerable areas, which Gangneung signed last February.
Lim Sin-hyuk, Head of ITS Promotion Division in Gangneung, said:
“By actively reflecting the feedback of citizens and tourists during the operation process, we will verify a demand-responsive transport model tailored to Gangneung and link it to unmanned autonomous driving demonstrations in the future.”
A handful of places are still available for UK small and medium-sized enterprises looking to showcase their transport technology innovations on the global stage in Gangneung.
The UK presence will once again form part of the UK-Europe Pavilion, delivered through a partnership between the United Kingdom Government, Transport for West Midlands and ERTICO – ITS Europe. The Pavilion will bring together innovative companies from across Europe, giving UK participants the opportunity to exhibit alongside leading organisations from across the continent while engaging with international visitors, policymakers and potential business partners.
Four organisations have already confirmed their participation on the UK section of the Pavilion – Zenzic, AGD, Podaris and Q-Free, who will be highlighted alongside a high-profile promotion of the 2027 ITS World Congress which will be held at Birmingham’s NEC.
For additional information or to make enquiries and bookings for the UK Pavilion in Korea, or the 2027 World Congress itself, contact Jordan Cowley from TfWM’s commercial team at [email protected]
(Picture: Courtesy Korea.net)
