Chungcheongnam-do

▲ Free Autonomous Vehicle Test Rides

For the first time in Chungnam Province, an autonomous vehicle took to the public roads.
 
The province inaugurated the free autonomous vehicle test ride service on October 6th, at Hongye Park in Naepo New City.
 
The inaugural journey was attended by Hong Soon-gwang, the Director of the Provincial Construction and Transportation Department, along with other provincial officials and third-grade students from Naepo Elementary School.
 
The autonomous round-trip shuttle bus departed from the Chungnam Provincial Library at 10 a.m., traversed the outer roads of Hongye Park, and made stops at the Chungnam Health and Environment Research Institute, Chungnam Veterans Hall, and Chungnam Children’s Character Learning Institute before returning to its starting point.
 
During the route, the bus stopped at two stations, one in front of the Naepo Innovation Platform and the other in front of the Chungnam Children’s Character Learning Institute, with the entire journey taking approximately 20 minutes.
 
The test experience allows 8–10 people to board the autonomous shuttle bus along with a safety officer and circulate around a 2.5 km radius within Hongye Park.
 
The service will run nine times a day at 30-minute intervals every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., until November 26th.
 
Pre-booking for the free test rides has been available since October 2nd through QR code registration, and to prevent last-minute cancellations, reservations are being accepted on a weekly basis.
 
Due to high public interest, reservations for the first week of operations (October 6th to 8th) have already been fully booked.
 
Director Hong stated, "For the first time in the province, an autonomous vehicle has successfully completed its inaugural journey on public roads." He expressed hope that "this test ride experience will improve public perception of autonomous vehicles and increase interest in future mobility solutions, helping Naepo New City leap forward as a specialized city for future mobility."
 
 
Department : Road, Rail, and Aviation Division, Future Road and Aviation Team
Phone Number : 041-635-2832