A Hangang Bus vessel is docked at Magok Pier in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, Sept. 29. (Yonhap)
A Hangang Bus vessel is docked at Magok Pier in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, Sept. 29. (Yonhap)

Following a monthlong pause for safety and service upgrades, Seoul’s waterborne public transportation system — the Hangang Bus — will resume services starting Saturday morning, the city government said Monday.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the first vessel will depart from Magok Pier on Saturday at 9 a.m., two hours earlier than its original schedule, and will run until 9:37 p.m., making its final stop at Jamsil in southern Seoul. From Saturday, the service will operate at 90-minute intervals on both weekdays and weekends, making a total of 16 round trips daily.

Billed as South Korea’s first eco-friendly waterborne transportation system, the Hangang Bus began official operations on Sept. 18, before being abruptly halted on Sept. 28 due to technical issues.

Since suspending its services, more than 300 nonpassenger trial runs were conducted, according to the city government.

The trials focused on collecting operational data by conducting docking and undocking simulations, refining contingency strategies for adverse weather and other emergency scenarios as well as bolstering crew training and maintenance capacity, with the aim of improving vessel stability and enhancing service quality.

To prevent similar operational disruptions caused by technical issues, two vessels will now be deployed per route, with one designated as a standby vessel to be put in service immediately if its counterpart experiences mechanical difficulties.

The city government added that the number of operations will increase next year, expanding the number of round trips to 32 starting in March. An express route, which will only stop at the Magok, Yeouido and Jamsil piers, is to begin running every 15 minutes during rush hour — 7-9 a.m. and 6-8 p.m.

Fares remain unchanged at 3,000 won ($2.10) per ride, which must be paid with a transportation card, not cash. Transfers to other modes of transportation will also be discounted.

Real-time service updates, including schedules, seat availability and weather-related cancellations, will be provided through major mobility applications such as Naver Map and Kakao Map.


lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com