- 7 electric double-decker buses will be operating in 2 Metropolitan bus routes (7780, 7800) –
Metropolitan Transport Commission (Chairman Baek Seung-Geun hereinafter referred to as Metropolitan Transport Commission) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Noh Hyeong-Ouk, MOLIT) announced that 7 'low-floor electric double-decker metropolitan buses' (hereinafter referred to as electric double-decker metropolitan buses) will be installed in the Suwon bus routes from May 9th.
Three buses will be introduced to bus no. 7780, which runs from Gwonseon-gu to Sadang Station through Paldal-gu and Jangan-gu, and four buses to bus no. 7800, which runs from Gwonseon-gu to Sadang Station through Jangan-gu. These will be the first ‘electric double-decker metropolitan buses’ to go in operation in Suwon.
The ‘electric double-decker metropolitan bus’, which will start operation, was jointly developed (2019) by MOLIT and Transport and Hyundai Motor Company to expand the seat supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The total number of seats is 70 (11 seats on the 1st floor, 59 seats on the 2nd floor), which is about 60% more than that of the existing bus (44 seats). It was developed as a low-floor bus which can have 2 wheelchairs on it in order to guarantee the mobility right of the people who have difficulties in using transportations, such as the disabled.
Also, since it uses an electric motor, it creates almost no noise and vibration, and various driving safety devices such as forward collision prevention (FCA) and lane departure warning (LDW) are installed to provide comfortable and safe metropolitan transportation service to passengers.
As there is no emission of harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, the atmosphere of the central city will likely be improved. The increase in transport volume per vehicle has been shown to have a great effect in alleviating in-vehicle congestion and road congestion during commuting hours.
* Compared to the conventional buses, ‘electric double-decker metropolitan buses’ reduce carbon emissions by more than 90 tons per year, increase the average daily number of passengers on the introduced route by 20% (1,250→1,501), and reduce the average congestion level by 13%p (57%→44%)
Metropolitan Transport Commission has been promoting the “project for supplying electric double-decker metropolitan buses” since 2020 to alleviate extreme congestion on metropolitan bus routes during commuting hours. Currently, 25 ‘electric double-decker metropolitan buses’ are running on 10 routes.
In addition, the plan is to introduce ‘electric double-decker metropolitan buses’ for the first time in a regional metropolitan areas (Daejeon area), increasing the number to around 60 by the end of this year. The number will be increased to around 300 according to the “The Second Foundational Plan for Metropolitan Transportation.”
Yoon Jun-Sang head of metropolitan bus department at Metropolitan Transport Commission stated, “The electric double-decker metropolitan bus is the only low-floor bus that can be operated in the metropolitan bus routes. It will greatly contribute to guaranteeing the transportation rights of mobility handicapped, such as the disabled.”
“We will continue to increase the number of electric double-decker metropolitan buses to better the convenience of metropolitan buses, improve the atmosphere, and guarantee the mobility of the disabled,” he said.
Please refer to the attached PDF.