Seoul widens rollout of late-night self-driving taxis to all of Gangnam, citing zero-accident pilot

SEOUL, June 15 — The Seoul city government said on Sunday it will expand the late-night operation of unmanned taxis to include all of Seoul’s Gangnam district starting this week, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The autonomous late-night cab service, which was launched as part of a pilot programme in September, will begin providing services near Apgujeong, Sinsa, Nonhyeon and Cheongdam subway stations from Monday, according to the city.

Currently, the cabs are available in Gangnam’s Yeoksam-dong, Daechi-dong, Dogok-dong and Samseong-dong.

The initiative, the first of its kind to be introduced by the city, currently operates three cabs from 11pm to 5am on weekdays.

Users can summon the cabs like a regular taxi through the Kakao T app, with up to three people allowed to board at a time. The service had been free of charge during the pilot programme.

The city said it had serviced a total of 4,200 rides since its first operation on September 26, equivalent to an average 24 rides per day.

Citing a successful pilot programme with zero accidents in Seoul’s Gangnam district, renowned for its complex roads, the city said it could open a path for self-driving cars to become a safe and convenient mode of transportation. — Bernama-Yonhap