Gyeonggi-do to Operate Ddokbus Throughout Pyeongtaek Godeok New Town Starting from the 26th

Ddokta Promotional Leaflet

A new concept transportation service called 'Ddokbus,' which allows passengers to board at their desired time and place and travel to their desired destination, will operate throughout Godeok New Town in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation announced on the 20th that they will conduct a pilot operation of Ddokbus in Godeok New Town starting from the 26th, and will officially begin operation with a total of 15 vehicles from the 9th of next month.

The vehicles are 11-seater Hyundai Solati models and will operate within Godeok New Town daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Ddokbus is a unique brand of the Gyeonggi-type demand-responsive transport system (DRT), meaning "a smartly moving bus."

Ddokbus is a customized public transportation service that flexibly transports passengers in response to calls without fixed routes or predetermined schedules, especially in new towns or transportation-vulnerable areas. Unlike conventional buses with fixed routes, it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create optimal travel routes in real-time according to passenger demand.

Passengers can call and pay for Ddokbus through the integrated transportation platform app 'Ddokta,' operated by Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation. When passengers enter their desired departure and arrival points in the app, it calculates and guides the route, boarding location, and boarding/alighting times in real-time based on the nearest operating Ddokbus vehicle.

Passengers board the Ddokbus at the designated boarding point and expected boarding time. If passengers with similar routes book at the same time, an automatic detour route is created for shared rides. The fare is 1,450 KRW, and integrated metropolitan area transfer discounts apply when using transportation cards.

Previously, since December 2021, the province conducted a pilot project for Ddokbus in Paju Unjeong and Gyoha districts, achieving the milestone of transporting 300,000 passengers as of March this year.

Building on this success, in the first half of this year, the province plans to operate 96 Ddokbus vehicles across nine cities and counties, including Goyang (7 vehicles in Siksa and Gobong), Hwaseong (15 in Dongtan, 5 in Hyangnam), Suwon (10 in Gwanggyo), Hanam (6 in Wirye and Gamil), and Yangju (10 in Okjeong).

Additionally, Namyangju will introduce a 'landline call' feature that allows elderly residents in rural areas such as Onam, Jinjeop, Sudong, and Byeollae to easily call Ddokbus by phone, promoting a pilot project with 14 rural-type Ddokbus vehicles.

Inchi Kwon, Director of the Metropolitan Transportation Policy Division of the province, stated, "Through the operation of Ddokbus in Godeok New Town, Pyeongtaek, we expect residents to use public transportation easily and freely anytime and anywhere." He added, "We plan to continuously expand Ddokbus, a customized transportation service for transportation-vulnerable areas, to all cities and counties within the province."