The city is planning to build the necessary infrastructure, such as installing wireless charging pads, within this year to operate the downtown rapid (Namsan 01) and autonomous shuttle (Cheonggyecheon) bus routes by next year, the latter of which is scheduled for service in the second half of 2022.

Unlike wired EV charging, there is no need to connect a heavy connector to vehicles, and wireless EV charging has the advantage of not just convenience but also accessibility to drivers with reduced mobility because they don’t have to get out of their vehicle to charge.

Applying domestic wireless EV charging technology, electric buses can charge simply by idling or parking over sections where wireless charging pads are installed, such as bus terminal stops. In particular, full-sized electric buses, such as the Namsan #01 rapid bus, can travel for more than 21 kilometers with just six minutes of charging whereas small-sized electric buses, such as the Cheonggyecheon autonomous shuttle bus, can travel about 6 kilometers with the same charging time.

Installing wireless charging pads at bus terminal stops allows bus drivers to take advantage of the bus departure queue and charge while passengers board the bus before it departs. For example, the Namsan #01 rapid bus can charge at the N Seoul Tower bus terminal stop on top of Namsan Mountain and the Cheonggyecheon autonomous shuttle bus can charge at the Cheonggye Plaza bus terminal stop near City Hall.

Seoul plan to review further expansion of this technology to cover autonomous vehicles, carshare vehicles and more electric buses after evaluating the operational results of this pilot project, which leads to the forecast of the city’s public transport preferentially switching to electric vehicles due to the greater convenience of wireless EV charging.