Gov’t to add more Hyundai electric double-deckers

Double-decker electric bus. [Courtesy of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport]

The South Korean government plans to alleviate rush-hour congestion in Seoul by adding more electric double-decker buses in the metropolitan area.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on Sunday, a total of 50 electric double-decker buses from Hyundai Motor Co. will be deployed on 16 routes traveling in the Seoul metropolitan region by the end of 2024.

Eight buses will be added to routes 5003A and 5003B, which runs between Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangnam, Seoul. Five buses will be allocated to routes 5000A and 5000B, which operate round trips between Yongin and Seoul Station, and five buses will be assigned to route G5100, which connects Yongin‘s Kyung Hee University’s international campus to Gangnam. Additionally, four buses will be added to routes 3008, which runs between Suwon and Gangnam, and 8600, which connects Gimpo to Seoul City Hall.

The new electric double-decker buses can accommodate approximately 30 more passengers than existing buses, raising expectations for a partial reduction in congestion during commuting hours in the capital region.

Introduced in 2020 as the first electric double-decker buses produced in Korea, a total of 100 of these buses have been deployed to date. “Double-decker buses can accommodate up to 71 passengers, or 61 percent more than single-story buses,” an official from the transport ministry, who expects them to alleviate urban road congestion, said.