Chungnam's 'First' Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Ends... "Security Patrols and Other Activities Starting Next Month"

Chungnam Province has completed the region's first autonomous vehicle pilot operation.

Chungnam Province announced on the 27th that the free autonomous bus ride experience, which was held from the 6th of last month around Hongye Park in Naepo New City, has ended (on the 26th).

Provided by Chungnam Province

Over the past two months, the autonomous bus ran a total of 239 times on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, covering 597 km. Among the total 2,147 reservation holders, 1,848 actually boarded the bus. The passengers were divided into 499 participants in experiential learning and 1,349 general passengers.

The experiential learning was conducted through separate applications from nearby elementary schools, daycare centers, and Yesan Kkumbit School. General boarding was done through advance reservations using QR codes.

During the pilot operation period, Chungnam Province also conducted a survey of 131 passengers. In the survey, 111 respondents (84%) expressed satisfaction with the boarding experience service, including safety, driving speed, and operation sections.

Regarding the autonomous vehicle services they hope to see introduced in Naepo New City, 88 people (67%) chose ‘shuttle bus,’ 15 people (11%) chose ‘taxi,’ and 15 people (11%) chose ‘parking enforcement.’

Chungnam Province implemented the autonomous bus service pilot operation following the designation of Naepo New City as an autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone in June.

Starting next month, illegal parking guidance and crime prevention patrols using autonomous vehicles will also be conducted. This is the first case attempted nationwide by Chungnam Province, and the period will last until May next year.

The parking guidance and crime prevention patrol will be carried out with one passenger car equipped with autonomous driving functions and necessary equipment, accompanied by one to two safety personnel.

The operating hours are weekdays (Monday to Friday) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the day and from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at night. The parking guidance activity routes include Chungnam Provincial Office Intersection, Red Cross Intersection, Library Intersection, and Hongseong High School Intersection.

The crime prevention patrol routes include Supsok Haneulso Park, Fire Station Intersection, Jagyeong Village Intersection, Mulpengi-gol Intersection, and Hanul Elementary School Intersection.

Chungnam Province plans to continuously promote and improve various autonomous driving projects, including parking guidance and crime prevention patrols, so that Naepo New City can develop into a future mobility-specialized city.

A Chungnam Province official said, “We plan to prepare free ride experience services next year so that more residents can experience and be satisfied with autonomous driving. In particular, starting next month, we will pilot parking guidance and crime prevention patrol services using autonomous vehicles, which is the first nationwide initiative by Chungnam.”

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