SEOUL — The Hangang River Bus, introduced as a water-based public transit option for daily commuters, has never once operated during the peak morning commute hours of 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM since its launch in September 2025, according to recent data.

According to data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to Representative Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 22nd, when the service first launched on September 18 of last year through September 28—prior to passenger-free trial runs—the initial departure time was 11:00 AM. After a temporary suspension to secure safety and improve service quality, operations resumed on November 1, running from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM through February 28 of this year.

Following an incident near the Jamsil Pier last November where a vessel stalled, the Hangang Bus operated partially on the Magok-Yeouido section. When full-route operations resumed in March of this year, the starting departure time was pushed back to 10:00 AM. It was delayed even further to 11:00 AM in June with the addition of the Seoul Forest Pier.

Passenger counts across various operational periods show that 27,351 people used the service during the initial run from September 18 to 28, 2024. From November 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025, 77,921 passengers utilized the service. Between March 1 and June 7 of this year, the rider count reached 182,818, while 93,565 passengers used it from June 8 to August 14.

Under Seoul municipal ordinances, the Hangang Bus is classified as public transit pursuant to the "Act on the Promotion and Utilization of Public Transportation." The city initially conceived the project to resolve severe commuter traffic congestion. Proposed in April 2023 as a countermeasure to alleviate the extreme overcrowding of the Gimpo Goldline, the official Hangang Bus website cites the background of its introduction as: "The growing need to introduce a new transportation mode equipped with punctuality and comfort to counter severe road traffic congestion during rush hour, crowded public transit conditions, safety issues regarding congestion, and increasing inconvenience."

In February 2024, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "Once the Hangang Bus is introduced, citizens will experience a pleasant and comfortable commute, changing their lifestyles, and it will respond to the climate crisis as an eco-friendly public transit option." However, amid persistent criticism regarding its functionality as public transit, the city has recently emphasized that the service is a hybrid system combining public transport and tourism. During a municipal inspection inquiry last month, city officials noted that "it has strong public transit elements during weekdays and a more tourism-oriented character on weekends."

Originally, the Hangang Bus was introduced with plans to begin operations as early as 6:30 AM to accommodate morning commuters. According to a February 2024 review report by the Seoul Metropolitan Council on the "Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation Hangang River Bus Investment Agreement Consent Bill," the project overview outlined plans to operate a total of 61 one-way trips daily from 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM on weekdays, and 48 trips from 9:30 AM to 10:30 PM on weekends. It specifically detailed plans to run 16 daily express routes between Magok, Yeouido, and Jamsil during weekday morning rush hours (6:30 AM to 9:00 AM) and evening rush hours (6:00 PM to 8:30 PM). The Seoul city government's official news site has explained that "[during rush hour] the express route reduces travel time by 21 minutes, allowing passengers to complete their journey in 54 minutes, aiding efficient travel during busy commute times."

On the 17th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a press release celebrating the first anniversary of the Hangang Bus launch, yet remained silent on whether the service had operated in alignment with its original founding purpose, such as rush-hour usage metrics.

Representative Yang Bu-nam pointed out, "Although the Seoul city government touted the Hangang Bus as a new commuting option, it has not operated even once before 9:00 AM since its official launch. If it is a transportation system that citizens cannot actually use during their morning commute, the initial purpose of a 'new commuting option' becomes meaningless."

A Seoul city official responded, "We are not yet operating [during morning commute hours] in order to maintain safe trip counts given our current number of vessels and available workforce. In line with recent additional vessel deliveries, we expanded operations from 32 to 40 daily trips starting in August, and we plan to continuously increase trip counts and operating hours, gradually implementing morning operations."

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