Gwangju City to Expand Operation of Electric and Hydrogen City Buses by Year-End

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 28th that, in line with the government's Green New Deal policy, it will introduce and expand the operation of 27 electric city buses and 6 hydrogen city buses by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, 9 new electric low-floor buses were introduced and are currently operating on six routes: Maewol 06 (1 bus), Cheomdan 09 (1 bus), Bongseon 27 (2 buses), Unlim 51 (3 buses), Geumnam 59 (1 bus), and Cheomdan 95 (1 bus).

Including the 10 electric low-floor buses introduced last year, a total of 19 electric city buses are running on 8 routes throughout Gwangju city.

By the end of the year, an additional 18 electric buses will be introduced in line with the installation schedule of electric bus chargers being set up by Korea Electric Power Corporation at Jangdeung, Wolnam Public Garage, and Dosan-dong Garage.

Along with this, as a stepping stone for leading the hydrogen economy and a major shift to eco-friendly energy free from carbon, 6 hydrogen city buses will be introduced by the second half of this year.

The hydrogen buses to be introduced will be deployed on six routes: Sunhwan 01 (1 bus), Songjeong 19 (1 bus), Cheomdan 22 (1 bus), Songjeong 29 (1 bus), Unlim 51 (1 bus), and Cheomdan 95 (1 bus).

According to the government's Green New Deal policy, Gwangju aims to introduce 52 electric low-floor buses next year, which is 25 more than this year.

Among them, 12 will be medium-sized electric buses, which will be operated on branch routes where medium-sized buses run.

With the introduction of 52 electric low-floor buses next year, Gwangju will have a total of 89 electric low-floor buses in operation, accounting for 8.9% of the city’s buses.

This figure far exceeds the national electric bus introduction rate of 2.36% (as of May 2020), making it one of the highest levels of eco-friendly bus adoption nationwide.

Additionally, to ensure smooth operation of electric low-floor buses, 9 new chargers are being installed at Jangdeung, Wolnam Public Garage, and Dosan-dong Garage in cooperation with KEPCO, and 2 additional chargers are being added at Cheomdan Public Garage, totaling 16 chargers across 5 garages by the end of the year.

Once installation is complete, 32 electric buses will be able to charge simultaneously.

Son Doo-young, head of the city's Public Transportation Division, said, “We are making every effort to install charging stations for electric and hydrogen buses to ensure their smooth introduction,” adding, “We will establish ourselves as a leading city in the government's Green New Deal policy for the future of South Korea.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.