The city of Seoul announced that it will start operation of 4 hydrogen buses to the regular city bus route 370 (Gangdong Public Garage ~ Chungjeongno Station *Daewon Passengers). One started operating on December 15th (Tue), and the remaining three will be put into operation on the 22nd (Tue).
The No. 370 is a route that passes through major bases in Seoul, starting from Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu, passing through Gangdong Station, Gunja Station, Sinseol-dong Station, and Jongno, and operating a green transportation area. As of 2019, it is used by an average of 27,000 people per day, so it is expected that many citizens will be able to experience the convenience of hydrogen buses.
The route for introducing the hydrogen bus was decided in consideration of the charging infrastructure situation. There is no hydrogen charging station in the Gangdong Public Garage where bus 370 parks and spurs, but there is a H Gangdong hydrogen charging station located 2.4km one way from a nearby garage, so hydrogen charging is relatively convenient. It can be operated all day on a single charge.
H Gangdong Hydrogen Charging Station (Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu) is a storage-type hydrogen charging station with an area of about 211㎡ that started operation in May 20th. With the introduction of this hydrogen bus, additional charging capacity will be secured so that it does not affect general hydrogen vehicle users. It is operated so that charging is smoothly performed by designating the charging time exclusively for buses from 6 to 9 am.
A maximum of 30kg is charged once, which is the amount that can drive about 450km. Bus 370 runs 240-250 km per day.
Air Purification
A total of 418,218 kg (4.863 kg per 1 km) of air is purified if the hydrogen bus runs the annual distance of 86,000 km per bus No. 370. This is the amount that about 76 adults (weight 65 kg) can drink in one year.
This hydrogen bus introduction is one of the core sub-projects of the “Seoul-type Green New Deal”
The city explained that requests for hydrogen buses were consistently high because both passengers and drivers were satisfied with fewer sudden departures, stops, and vibrations than regular buses at the time of the pilot operation of hydrogen buses (No. 405, ‘18.11~’19.8). The introduction of hydrogen buses is expected to lead the eco-friendly transportation system and improve the overall service quality of public transportation by enhancing the convenience and safety of transportation of city buses.
Citizens using No. 405, which had been piloted in 2018, requested to run a hydrogen bus again due to the comfort and comfort of the car. In addition, the driver who had been driving the hydrogen bus was highly satisfied with reduced fatigue.
The city of Seoul aims to increase the number of hydrogen buses to the level of 1,000 by ’25, establish 11 hydrogen charging stations as a welcome to the hydrogen car era, and lead the activation of green mobility, the core of the Green New Deal.
The city has been leading the introduction of eco-friendly buses such as electric buses in 2018, starting with CNG (natural gas) buses in 2000. In particular, in November 2018, a hydrogen bus was piloted on the regular city bus route 405, taking the lead in introducing eco-friendly city buses.
Bo-yeon Hwang, head of the Seoul City Transportation Office, said, “The bus is very effective when it is switched to an eco-friendly car because of its long driving distance. Seoul City will accelerate the transition to an eco-friendly public transportation system by introducing hydrogen buses, one of the core of the Green New Deal, following CNG buses and electric buses. He said, “We will make sure that citizens can feel the convenience of hydrogen vehicles and actively respond to climate change.”
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