Seoul’s Early Bus Drives Itself

Seoul has a special bus for very early mornings. It is an autonomous bus, which means it can drive by itself with advanced technology. The city says its early-morning autonomous buses have now been used by more than 30,000 passengers. That is a big number for a service that runs before many people are even awake.

A new route, A148, started on April 16. It leaves Sanggye Station at 3:30 a.m. and goes to the Express Bus Terminal. The route is 22.1 kilometers long and passes places such as Mia Intersection, Gyeongdong Market, and Apgujeong Station. It runs on weekday mornings and stops only at major bus stops, so it works like an express bus.

Seoul already had two other early autonomous bus routes, A160 and A741. The city added A148 to help more people who need to travel very early, such as workers and commuters. The buses also use road signal information together with vehicle sensor data to improve safety.

This news feels like a small look into the future. Many children learn about self-driving cars in books or videos, but in Seoul, some people can already ride one to work before sunrise. A bus without a usual driver may sound surprising, but for sleepy passengers at 3:30 a.m., getting to work on time is probably the bigger magic trick.