LGU+ Supplies Digital Breathalyzers to Incheon Charter Buses

LG Uplus announced on the 15th that it will supply digital breathalyzers to approximately 2,000 charter buses in Incheon Metropolitan City to enhance the safety of drivers and passengers and to innovate the boarding experience.

As social awareness of drunk driving increases, active discussions are underway in Korea regarding the introduction of drunk driving prevention devices, permanent revocation of licenses for repeat offenders, and vehicle confiscation laws. In line with this social atmosphere, LG Uplus has introduced breathalyzers to charter buses under Incheon Metropolitan City and signed a business agreement with the 'Incheon Metropolitan City Charter Bus Transport Business Association' and ITMT Co., Ltd. to digitalize the bus control system.

LG Uplus employees demonstrating a digital breathalyzer device
[Photo by LG Uplus]

The business agreement ceremony held at the Incheon Charter Bus Association office was attended by key executives including Im Bang-hyun, Head of Western Corporate Sales at LG Uplus (Senior Executive Vice President), Jang Byung-il, Chairman of the Incheon Charter Bus Association, and Yang Yeon-hee, CEO of ITMT.

Through this agreement, LG Uplus and ITMT will supply digital breathalyzers and comprehensive vehicle control services (DTG) to 41 member companies under the Incheon Charter Bus Association, covering about 2,000 buses, and support their operation and management. Specifically, the Incheon Charter Bus Association will provide installation guidance and cooperation to all affiliated transport companies, ITMT will supply the systems and devices, and LG Uplus will provide the Internet of Things (IoT) wireless communication lines.

The Incheon Charter Bus Association decided to introduce digital breathalyzers on all affiliated charter buses to simplify pre-operation reporting procedures such as alcohol measurement and to allow bus drivers to focus on safe driving. Previously, breathalyzers were kept at the association office, requiring drivers to stop by before operating the bus, but with this introduction, drivers can start driving without location constraints. Moreover, alcohol measurement confirmation and records are now managed and stored electronically, preventing forgery or alteration, thus enhancing data reliability compared to the previous manual management.

Once implemented, after boarding the bus, drivers will authenticate themselves via wireless identification (RFID, a recognition system that reads stored data on tags, labels, or cards embedded with semiconductor chips using radio frequency without contact) or fingerprint, then measure their blood alcohol level, and a frontal photo of their face will be automatically taken. The alcohol measurement information and photo will be sent via SMS to the transport company’s management personnel and centrally managed on the management server.

In accordance with Article 55, Paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Act, the Incheon Charter Bus Association is required to submit vehicle status and location data to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority. By replacing the vehicle operation recorders installed on buses with digital-based devices, the accuracy of data and the speed of sharing and integration are expected to improve.

ITMT, a specialist company in breathalyzers and vehicle operation management solutions, developed the digital-based comprehensive vehicle control service (DTG) and has established itself as the industry leader by supplying it to transport companies and associations nationwide. The DTG service collects real-time data such as vehicle location, speeding, idling, and rapid acceleration, transmits it to ITMT’s servers via LTE communication, and automatically sends it to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s e-TAS system, facilitating operational convenience for bus drivers and transport company managers.

Since last year, LG Uplus has partnered with ITMT to supply the DTG service to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Charter Bus Transport Business Association and the Chungnam Charter Bus Cooperative, currently managing real-time data for over 4,000 buses nationwide. Going forward, the two companies plan to expand service supply to buses in the metropolitan area and nationwide based on their experience cooperating with three associations across the country.

Im Bang-hyun, Head of Western Corporate Sales at LG Uplus (Senior Executive Vice President), said, "Thanks to the Incheon Charter Bus Association, which proactively decided to introduce the system to fundamentally block drunk driving and digitalize bus operations, we were able to sign this business agreement. We will continue to strengthen the safety of bus drivers and passengers nationwide and innovate the boarding experience through collaboration with ITMT."

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