DRIVERLESS TAXIS IN SERVICE

[Anchor Lead]

Driverless taxis went into service in Sangam-dong, Seoul. Starting today, anyone can ride in an autonomous car by simply calling it with a mobile app. Trial service of self-driving cars will also begin in Gangnam next month.

[Pkg]

​A customer inputs a point of departure and destination and hails a vehicle with a mobile app. The car that arrives shortly after is a self-driving vehicle.

[Soundbite] Kim Jeong-woo(Executive, autonomous vehicle startup) : "Our self-driving vehicles have the technology to check the traffic situation utilizing only a camera and a radar, without a driver, and move autonomously."

Starting today, ordinary citizens can use the pay-for autonomous vehicle service. The service area is limited to Seoul’s Sangam-dong neighborhood, a self-driving vehicle pilot operation zone. Two routes to Digital Media City Station are serviced first. A vehicle is hailed with a mobile app developed jointly by the Seoul government and a startup company. Although the vehicle is operated autonomously, it runs under 50 kilometers per hour for safety reasons. And the car must be driven manually in the school zone as the law dictates. Four vehicles are in operation. The fare is only 2,000 won and the first ride is free. A new pilot service will start in Seoul’s Gangnam area in March and self-driving buses will also be introduced soon.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-gu(Traffic Information Division, Seoul Metropolitan Gov’t) : "Robot taxis will be tested in Gangnam and self-driving buses will be introduced in Cheonggyecheon in the first half of this year."

The Seoul government plans to expand the pay-for autonomous fleet to 12 vehicles by the end of this year.