Premium Bus Trends

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Premium express buses with seating reminiscent of business-class on an airliner will expand their operations greatly. The expansion proves that there has been a very positive response among passengers to the luxury express buses. Let's find out more.

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This is the interior of a premium express bus. It has a total of 21 seats, seven fewer than in earlier premium buses. This affords passengers more private space. The front-to-back distance between seats has increased by 40 centimeters, and the seatbacks can be reclined up to 165 degrees. Each seat is equipped with a personal monitor to enjoy movies and music. These premium express buses, which debuted in November last year, will be operated on a much wider range of routes. In addition to lines linking Seoul to Busan and Gwangju, 12 more routes will be added between the capital city and Daegu, Gangneung and Yeosu. The daily operation frequency on existing lines will also be increased to 18 times for the Seoul-Busan route and 30 times for the Seoul-Gwangju route. No driver assigned to a premium bus has an accident record. Safety has also been boosted with a lane departure detection device. With fares ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 won depending on the route, the premium buses are about 30 percent more expensive than earlier special buses, but cheaper than high-speed trains. A 15-percent discount will be offered during weekdays for a month starting on June 30th to mark the operational expansion. Ticket reservations for new or expanded routes will be available from 9 a.m. on June 19th through a mobile reservation app, an online website and bus terminal ticket offices.