Average 4,689 riders a day, up 84% from April
Surpasses 267,357 cumulative riders eight months after official launch
“Garden expo and spring festivals are turning it into a leisure transport favorite”
Surpasses 267,357 cumulative riders eight months after official launch
“Garden expo and spring festivals are turning it into a leisure transport favorite”
Seoul’s Han River river bus saw a huge spike in riders as people poured into the riverfront during the long May holiday. Seoul announced on the 6th that 23,443 people rode the Han River bus from May 1–5. That works out to an average of 4,689 riders per day, roughly an 84% jump from April’s daily average of about 2,550.
May 1 set a single-day record with 5,584 passengers. Ridership stayed strong through the holiday—5,237 on May 2 and 5,423 on May 5—showing that spring outings to the Han River are increasingly translating into demand for the river bus, city officials said.
The growth trend held after full-route service resumed. March saw 62,491 riders and April had 76,488; the holiday added roughly 23,000 more, pushing cumulative ridership since March past 162,422. Since official operations began last September, total ridership has reached 267,357.
“With warm spring weather and festivals popping up across the city—like the Seoul International Garden Expo at Seoul Forest and the Seoul Spring Festival at Yeouido Park—the Han River bus is carving out a place as a new leisure mobility option,” a Seoul city official said.
Seoul is also moving fast to boost rider comfort. The city added scenic rest areas near the Mangwon and Ttukseom docks. This month it plans to designate six river-adjacent docks—Yeouido, Ttukseom, Jamsil, Apgujeong, Oksu and Magok—as waterside hub zones and install amenities like river-view gardens, pergolas and bar tables. The Ttukseom Dock–Seoul Forest stretch, tied to the Seoul International Garden Expo, has already finished its flower garden and river-view garden.
Park Jin-young, head of Seoul’s Future Han River Headquarters, said, “Heavy use of the Han River bus during the May holiday confirmed its potential as a leisure transport option. We will keep improving convenience and service quality so citizens can ride the Han River bus safely and comfortably.”
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