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Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, public transit buses are operated by the
Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government () is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Governmen ...
and private bus operators. The city maintains a quasi-public system where the city manages where the routes run, but private companies manage the running of the individual routes themselves.


Bus types

There are four types of buses: * Trunk Bus (Blue) : Trunk buses are operated partly by private bus companies and partly by the city government. It runs for longer distance and has access to median bus lanes connecting suburban areas to
downtown Seoul Downtown Seoul (), also known as Seoul Central Business District or ''Sadaemun-An'', is traditional city center and central business district of Seoul, located through Gwanghwamun of Jongno District and Seoul Station of Jung District, Seoul, Ju ...
. The city has taken full consideration to introducing 3 kinds of buses belonging to the Blue Bus category:
articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...
es (since retired), low floor buses, and high floor buses. The blue color represents Seoul's skyline and Hangang (River), which in turn symbolize security and freedom. * Branch Bus (Green) : Branch buses are flexibly operated by private bus companies. It runs for shorter distance connecting major subway stations or bus terminals outside
downtown Seoul Downtown Seoul (), also known as Seoul Central Business District or ''Sadaemun-An'', is traditional city center and central business district of Seoul, located through Gwanghwamun of Jongno District and Seoul Station of Jung District, Seoul, Ju ...
. It is similar to the city bus and the community shuttle bus currently in operation. The green color represents the mountains surrounding the city. * Rapid Bus (Red) : Rapid buses are express buses designed especially for passengers commuting between
downtown Seoul Downtown Seoul (), also known as Seoul Central Business District or ''Sadaemun-An'', is traditional city center and central business district of Seoul, located through Gwanghwamun of Jongno District and Seoul Station of Jung District, Seoul, Ju ...
and the metropolitan area. The red color represents the energy of speed. * Circulation Bus (Yellow) : Circulation buses will circle parts of Seoul and stop at stations near business areas, tourist areas, and shopping areas, as well as providing connections to trunk/branch buses, subway stations, and major railway stations. The color yellow was selected for its dynamic and friendly image. Circulation buses routes have been slowly discontinued, with the last remaining routes being the three Namsan loop buses. * Village Buses (Green, small) : Village buses are short auxiliary routes that feed local subway stations and other larger lines. Village buses are shorter and a different style than the other four categories of buses.


Routes

Route numbers specify area divisions. For trunk and branch buses, the first digit indicates the area where the route begins, and the second digit indicates where the route ends. For rapid buses, the first digit is always 9, and the second digit indicates the area in which the route begins. The first digit of circulation buses indicates the area in which the bus circles. Routes that begin with an 8 are holiday or rush-hour only branch buses. For all lines, any remaining digits identify individual routes.


Numbering system for routes

The following list shows the numbering system of routes based by area. This system was created to facilitate recognition of route outlines. *Area 0 : Central Seoul (Jongno District, Jung District, Yongsan District) *Area 1 : Dobong District, Gangbuk District, Seongbuk District, Nowon District. (also Uijeongbu, Yangju) *Area 2 : Dongdaemun District, Jungnang District, Seongdong District, Gwangjin District. (also Guri, Namyangju) *Area 3 : Gangdong District, Songpa District. (also Hanam, Gwangju (Gyeonggi Province)) *Area 4 : Seocho District, Gangnam District. (also Seongnam, Yongin) *Area 5 : Dongjak District, Gwanak District, Geumcheon District. (also Anyang, Gwacheon, Uiwang, Ansan, Gunpo, Suwon) *Area 6 : Gangseo District, Yangcheon District, Yeongdeungpo District, Guro District. (also Incheon, Bucheon, Gwangmyeong, Gimpo, Siheung) *Area 7 : Eunpyeong District, Mapo District, Seodaemun District. (also Goyang, Paju)


Vehicles

Most buses in South Korea are domestic models and are made by
Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...
,
Daewoo Daewoo ( ; ; ; ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "''dae''" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerate) and aut ...
and Edison Motors. Buses are either or to Buses use either
compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...
, electric batteries, or a combination of both. In the past,
diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...
buses also ran until retirement, and Daewoo buses measuring in length and
Iveco Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy Commercial vehicle, commercial veh ...
articulated buses measuring in length were in service on trunk buses from 2004 until 2014.


In popular culture

The South Korean animated children's television series
Tayo the Little Bus ''Tayo the Little Bus'' () is a South Korean animated television series. The series is produced by Iconix Entertainment for the Educational Broadcasting System in collaboration with the Metropolitan Government of Seoul. The show was produced wi ...
, which is available on
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
,
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
and on many stations throughout the world, is based on Seoul's bus system. Each of the four main characters is a different color (type) of bus, with the title character Tayo being a blue/trunk bus.


See also

*
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
*
Seoul Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway () is a urban rail transit, metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, Medium-capacity rail transport system, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. T ...
* T-money: Transportation Card System * Upass (South Korea): Transportation Card System * Transportation in Bundang * * * * *


References


External links


Seoul Bus homepage
{{Public transport in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Bus transport in South Korea Transport in Seoul