Seoul’s transit future hits the streets and waterways

Seoul's transportation system is undergoing one of its biggest transformations in years, shifting from blueprints and pilot programs into accessible everyday public transit.

Over the past year, river ferries, autonomous buses and self-driving taxis have taken to the streets and waterways of the Korean capital, driven by the city's new "G3 Seoul Plan," or Global Top 3, to scale up all three services by 2030.

Smoother sailing after a rocky start

The Hangang Bus, Korea's first water-based public transit system, marked its first anniversary on Sept. 18.

Ridership has topped 600,000 since launch, with roughly 83 percent of those trips taken after the city relaunched full service in March following a safety overhaul, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The first year wasn't smooth throughout.

From September to November last year, ferries scraped the riverbed or struck floating debris 15 times.

The city suspended service at the four piers upstream of Hannam Bridge — Jamsil, Ttukseom, Oksu and Apgujeong — while boats kept running on the downstream half of the route. Full service across all seven piers didn't resume until March 1, following river-depth inspections and dredging.

City councilors have also pressed the city over its finances — public funds cover roughly 69 percent of the project versus about 3 percent from private investors — and council members have repeatedly questioned whether the service functions as genuine commuter transit or mainly a tourist draw.

The city highlighted that the ferry service generated a tangible economic ripple onshore.

Comparing the year before and after launch, foot traffic near the Yeouido pier rose 20.9 percent and nearby restaurant card sales rose 15.5 percent. The city now plans to tie the ferry more closely to riverside parks and tourism, and eventually link its stops into a "Han River Economic Belt" connecting the city's major business districts, modeling the service after ferry systems in London and New York.

Autonomous buses, at scale

Seoul currently runs 16 autonomous buses, part of a larger fleet of 24 self-driving vehicles across six districts that have carried more than 234,000 passengers combined.

The G3 Seoul Plan raises that target to 500 autonomous buses by 2030. Prototype buses will be built through 2027, piloted in 2028 and rolled out at scale from 2029, replacing conventional routes in stages.

The buses already cover gaps in the regular network, including the world's first late-night autonomous bus route, a "Dawn Companion" service for early-shift workers such as security guards and sanitation crews, and neighborhood shuttles in residential areas. As the fleet grows, the city also plans to connect autonomous shuttles to Han River parks and the ferry's piers, linking two of its newest transit experiments into one system.

Driverless taxis move toward the mainstream

In southern Seoul's Gangnam District, Korea's only public self-driving taxi service expanded its fleet from seven to 19 vehicles on Aug. 20.

Operated by SWM and Kakao Mobility, the service has logged more than 15,000 rides since launching in 2024, hailed through the Kakao T app at standard late-night taxi fares.

A regulatory change in January lifted the mandatory manual-driving requirement in school zones and other protected areas, clearing the way for the service to go fully autonomous across its entire Gangnam route once the transport ministry approves updated safety plans. The city also plans to extend the service beyond its current overnight hours into daytime operation.

Level 4 driverless taxis — which operate without a human safety driver on board — are due to begin trials in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, this November. The city aims to commercialize 100 Level 4 vehicles by 2030.

Part of a bigger plan

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's transit initiatives are core components of the G3 Seoul Plan, an 86.1 trillion won ($63.5 billion) strategy running through 2030 that aims to place Seoul among the world's top three cities for both competitiveness and quality of life.

"'Global Top 3' is not just about climbing the world city rankings — it's a strategy to turn Seoul's competitiveness into a better life for every resident," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said at the plan's Sept. 10 launch.

Seoul has been climbing international indexes in recent years, including the Global Power City Index, Kearney's Global Cities Outlook and Euromonitor's city tourism rankings. City officials point to transportation as the first area where both residents and visitors will feel the upgrade.

BY SEO JI-EUN   [[email protected]]