South Korea launches first commercial passenger transportation service with unmanned minibuses

Unmanned minibuses appeared on the streets of South Korea's capital. The passenger transportation service is called Cheonggye Stream.

Here's What We Know

In the first stage, the startup 42dot, which is funded by Hyundai, uses two vehicles, each of which can carry up to seven passengers. The circular route is 5 kilometers long and runs along Cheonggyecheon Creek. In December, the company will use three minibuses.

Everyone will be able to get to their destination for free. Of course, in the future, the service will become fee-based. You can reserve a seat on the minibus by using a smartphone app.

42dot's buses have a level-four driverless driving system, which allows the vehicles to be used without a driver. However, the startup decided to keep a human driver to take over the controls in the busiest areas. The buses have 12 cameras and six radar sensors that read traffic signals.

South Korea is actively developing an infrastructure for unmanned cars and buses. The country's authorities want to commercialize unmanned passenger transportation with cars of the fourth safety level by 2027.

Source: UPI