'Seoul Riververse'... Full-scale Promotion Targeting September Next Year

Seoul City Signs Agreement with Transportation Operators

The ‘Hangang River Bus,’ which will connect major residential, business, and tourist areas within Seoul and allow travel from Ara Hangang Gapmun to Yeouido within 30 minutes, is set to be launched in September next year.

On the 4th, Seoul City announced that it will sign a ‘Joint Cooperation Agreement for the Hangang River Bus Project’ with E-Land Group, which includes eCruise, the operator of the river bus.

Seoul City is currently considering operating multiple routes, including establishing river bus piers along the ‘Ara Hangang Gapmun~Yeouido’ route, and plans to coordinate with relevant agencies to enable payment and transfer discounts using a single transportation card, similar to existing land public transportation such as buses and subways.

First, Seoul City plans to focus on building facilities and systems to support smooth and convenient access to the piers starting from the launch of the river bus operation in September next year. The ‘Ara Hangang Gapmun~Yeouido’ route will take about 30 minutes, which is expected to be competitive compared to the time taken to transfer from a bus to the Gimpo Gold Line or Subway Line 5 to reach Yeouido. The operation interval is planned to be maintained at 15 minutes during peak commuting hours.

Additionally, the city plans to start operating routes connecting major residential, business, and tourist areas within Seoul, such as Mapo, Yeouido, Jamwon, and Jamsil, along with the metropolitan route linking Gimpo and Seoul, from September next year. The river bus to be introduced by the city will have a capacity of 199 passengers. Assuming one city bus carries about 50 passengers, the river bus can transport the equivalent of about four buses at once, which is expected to help alleviate congestion in public transportation.

The city also plans to negotiate with Incheon City and Gyeonggi Province to allow payment using the same transportation card as buses and subways and to enable transfer discounts from the start of the river bus operation.

Furthermore, to thoroughly review the pier locations, operation routes, schedules, pier accessibility, and fares, a ‘River Bus Operation Activation Plan Service’ has been underway since last month. After analyzing the demand for movement in major residential and business areas, the operation plan will be finalized within this year, and design and construction of infrastructure will begin in January next year.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, “Currently, the Hangang River has forest parks and sports facilities along the waterfront that citizens enjoy, but connectivity has always been a concern. However, with the introduction of the river bus, citizens will be able to freely travel across the river and to distant areas via convenient water transportation. The convenience of daily transportation will be revolutionized, and the utilization of the Hangang River will change unimaginably.”

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