Construction of Han River buses begins for October introduction

Shipbuilding has commenced on the eight river buses slated to hit the waters of the Han River in October.

A river bus passes a dock on the Han River in a rendered image provided by the Seoul city government on Sunday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Shipbuilding has commenced on the eight river buses slated to hit the waters of the Han River in October.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Sunday that the development of the eagerly anticipated river transportation system will be complete by the end of September to begin ferrying passengers in October as planned.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled several "groundbreaking" changes to the capital's public transportation for this year, including the introduction of river buses, during a New Year’s press conference held in January.

According to the city government, a steel-cutting ceremony for the river buses was held in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, on Thursday, attended by the operators E-land Cruise and the state-run Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation.

A rendering of a river bus provided by the Seoul city government on Sunday. The transportation system is set to kick off in October. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The 150-ton river buses will be 35 meters (115 feet) long and 9.5 meters wide. They will be wrapped with aluminum, which provides better shock absorption, instead of the fiber-reinforced plastic used on normal vessels. The ships will also be equipped with hybrid diesel-electric engines that are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 48 percent compared to regular diesel engines.

The construction of seven piers along the Han River at Magok, Mangwon and Yeouido in western Seoul, Jamwon and Jamsil in southern Seoul, and Oksu and Ttukseom in eastern Seoul, will begin within this month, with more piers planned for different locations in the coming years.

Mayor Oh visited the seven sites last week, instructing those involved in the project to consider measures to add new bus routes and stops along roads near the docks to increase accessibility.

The river buses will operate 68 times a day, transferring commuters every 15 minutes during rush hour with a capacity of up to 199 passengers per trip. The fare will be 3,000 won ($2.2) per ride, though it is also covered by the city's monthly unlimited transit pass, the Climate Card.

The route of the river buses that will be operating on the Han River starting in October [NAM JUNG-HYUN]

The river buses will operate on two different routes — express and local. The express route from Magok in western Seoul to Jamsil in southern Seoul will take 54 minutes, 21 minutes shorter than the local route.

However, the river bus scheme, initially proposed as a measure to alleviate overcrowding on the Gimpo Goldline, will not include Gyeonggi’s Gimpo in its launch in October. The plan to build a dock near Ara Han River Gabmun, located near the Gimpo Ara Bridge, has been put on hold as the Gyeonggi city government has yet to allocate funding for the project, according to the Seoul government.

The city expects the transportation system will extend to the pier in Gimpo as early as 2027.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]