"Like Calling a Taxi with an App"... Sejong City Launches Demand-Responsive 'Call Bus' Pilot Service

Community-type mobility Shucle. Photo is unrelated to the article. Source=Provided by Hyundai Motor Company

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A so-called call bus service, which allows passengers to use buses by calling them through an application (app) just like hailing a taxi, will be piloted in Sejong. By setting boarding and alighting points via the app and calling the bus, passengers can be picked up at virtual stops and travel along the optimal route.

Sejong City announced on the 2nd that from the 13th until the end of August, it will pilot the community demand-responsive mobility service called "Shuckle" (a compound of Shuttle and Circle) in the 1st living zone areas including Goun, Areum, Jongchon, Eojin, and Dodam-dong.

Shuckle operates as a kind of "call bus" with an 11-seat bus equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) functions, running according to user demands within the local community.

The core of the Shuckle service is that when passengers input conditions such as departure point, destination, and number of people via the app, it guides them to the nearest stop among about 300 virtual stops within the pilot area, allowing passengers to board the bus at that stop.

Additionally, the shuttle carrying passengers uses AI-based real-time traffic condition reflection, enabling it to find the optimal route even when multiple passengers set different destinations simultaneously.

The Shuckle pilot project is being promoted in cooperation with Hyundai Motor Company. Hyundai provides the AI platform necessary for Shuckle operation, while Sejong Transportation Corporation manages the operation. During the pilot period, Shuckle will operate 12 buses on weekdays and 9 buses on weekends and holidays from 6 a.m. to midnight.

After the pilot operation, Shuckle will expand its service area to the 2nd living zone starting in September. The city plans to have Shuckle operating throughout the new town by March next year.

The city expects that Shuckle will break away from the existing public transportation operation method, which required using transportation according to fixed operating times and routes, and instead provide a flexible public transportation system that adapts to passengers' demands.

Above all, through Shuckle, accessibility to the existing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will improve, making movement within living zones more convenient. This is expected to lead to reduced private car usage, thereby alleviating traffic congestion, improving air quality, and resolving parking difficulties, the city anticipates.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, said, "We will ensure that Shuckle operation becomes a starting point to enhance the efficiency of the public transportation system," adding, "In addition to introducing Shuckle, the city will adopt various future transportation means to improve citizens' transportation convenience."

Meanwhile, the city is promoting the Shuckle pilot project as part of the Regulatory Sandbox Activation Project. This project allows the National Smart City Committee to apply regulatory exemptions and relax regulations, enabling new industries and new technologies to be piloted for four years.

For example, under the current Passenger Transport Service Act, "demand-responsive transport business" licenses are limited to transportation-vulnerable areas, but in Sejong, special exemptions allow related services to be provided in urban areas as well.

In Sejong, autonomous driving BRT operation is also being promoted through these exemptions. Since the end of last month, the city has started a demonstration of BRT public transportation service where passengers can board autonomous buses, and from next month, it is expected that autonomous driving BRT will be available for fares under 500 won.

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