Chungnam's 'First' Autonomous Vehicle Roams Naepo New Town

The first autonomous vehicle in the Chungnam region is cruising the roads of Naepo New City.

On the 6th, Chungnam Province announced that it has started a free autonomous vehicle ride experience service around Hongye Park in Naepo New City.

Provided by Chungnam Province

The autonomous round-trip (shuttle) bus departed from the Chungnam Provincial Library at 10 a.m. that day and drove along the outer roads of Hongye Park. The route passed by the Chungnam Health and Environment Research Institute, Chungnam Veterans Hall, and Chungnam Children's Character Learning Center before returning to the Chungnam Provincial Library.

During operation, the bus stopped at the stops in front of the Naepo Innovation Platform and the Chungnam Children's Character Learning Center, and the total operation time took about 20 minutes.

The experience involves 8 to 10 passengers boarding the autonomous round-trip bus together with safety personnel, circulating around a 2.5 km route in the Hongye Park area.

The experience will continue until the 26th of next month. During this period, the bus will operate nine times a day at 30-minute intervals between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Before the start of the experience service that day, Chungnam Province began accepting participation applications from the 2nd. Reservations are made on a weekly basis to prevent same-day cancellations. Currently, reservations for operations from the 6th to the 8th (the first week) are closed.

Hong Sung-kwang, Director of the Chungnam Provincial Construction and Transportation Bureau, said, “The region’s first autonomous vehicle has safely completed actual road operation,” adding, “The ride experience service will instill a positive perception of autonomous vehicles among local residents, increase interest in future mobility, and provide an opportunity for Naepo New City to leap forward as a future mobility-specialized city.”