Gangnam-gu Pilot Project Expands Number of Vehicles and Operating Hours
"We Need to Increase the Density of Demonstration Projects Like in the US and China"
As the government announced plans to expand the pilot operation of autonomous taxis in Gangnam, Seoul, the industry suggested the need to solidify autonomous bus and taxi demonstration projects by increasing the operation ratio.
According to Asia Economy's report on the 21st, Seoul City is preparing to expand the number of autonomous taxis, operating hours, and routes in the pilot operation zone in Gangnam-gu. At the National Policy Agenda Ministerial Meeting on the 19th, it was also decided to promote regulatory improvement tasks related to this. A Seoul city official said, "We plan to increase the number of autonomous taxis and extend operating hours from the current nighttime to daytime within this year," adding, "The exact number will be known after receiving applications from companies."
Currently, in Gangnam-gu, autonomous taxis operate during late-night hours from 11 PM to 5 AM within a pilot operation area of about 11.7㎢. The plan is to expand this to cover the entire pilot operation zone and increase the number of vehicles from the current three to more, depending on company applications. The fares, which are currently free, will be reviewed for possible charging after evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot project. Seoul City is also operating autonomous buses during early morning hours and plans to expand from one route to four routes within this year.
The expansion of autonomous operations is necessary to accumulate data through technology demonstration. All autonomous mobility currently operating in Korea require a driver onboard, so they are not yet at the 'fully unmanned' autonomous driving stage. To reach the 'Level 4' stage of fully unmanned operation, substantial technology demonstration and data collection are required. In the US and China, fully unmanned autonomous taxis are already running on roads.
The industry voices that, as technology is rapidly advancing overseas, it is time to scale up demonstration projects domestically as well. At the discussion hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Council on the 20th titled "The Era of Unmanned Autonomous Commercialization: Seoul City's Role and Challenges," Han Ji-hyung, CEO of Autonomous A2Z, said, "The technology has been somewhat verified through demonstration projects in Seoul so far," and added, "Rather than just one route bus, a dense demonstration project similar to those in the US and China should be conducted, where 30-40% of vehicles within a specific area are autonomous."
Cha Doo-won, strategic advisor at PonyLink, stated at the discussion, "According to data from 15 months starting August 2023, the autonomous taxi 'Waymo' in San Francisco, USA, has secured a market share comparable to the on-demand ride-sharing service 'Lyft,'" and conveyed, "Companies see 2027 as the 'tipping point' for autonomous driving technology."
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