Busan Latest News

Busan city has begun full-scale test operations of self-driving buses. However, it has been pointed out that the effectiveness of the test is unclear, as it will only be operated late at night when there is less interference from surrounding vehicles. 

Busan is also conducting test runs of self-driving buses at the Osiria Industrial Park in Gijang County. However, the Osiria Industrial Park was built as a planned tourism city, and unlike Busan's older downtown areas, the roads are well-maintained and the traffic volume is relatively low. This marks the first test run in a city with a high traffic volume.

Busan has a complex road system with many unplanned, naturally occurring roads, making it a "driving hell" for drivers. This has raised interest in whether self-driving buses can operate stably.

The city said it decided to conduct the test run within the city after considering the fact that no accidents occurred during the test run on the Naeseong-Middle Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) section, which ran for about two months from November last year to January 23 this year, and that no particular problems occurred during the six-month test run at the Osyria Industrial Park.

On the 26th, Busan City launched a late-night passenger transport service using the autonomous Big AI bus on the BRT section from Haeundae-gu Office Oguisamgeori to Dongnae-gu Naeseong Intersection (10.4km).

The trial service will run only during late night hours until June 30th. The service will run from 11:30 pm to 3:30 am the following day, and will not operate on the first Friday of each month.

Safety personnel will be on board the bus during the test run, and general passengers can ride for free. There will be 15 passengers on board. The bus will run four times a day in one direction (two round trips), with a 60-minute interval between buses. A Busan city official said, "Since the bus will only operate in the eastern Busan BRT section, there is little chance of safety issues arising due to Busan's notorious traffic conditions."