'Premium buses' to debut next year

By Nam Hyun-woo

Travelers will be able to lie down in their seats on tour buses as early as January next year, industry insiders said Monday.

According to Korea Express Bus Lines Association (KOBUS), the eight operators of the association will introduce some 300 “premium buses” for pilot operation to offer travelers better service amid rising demands for comfortable long distance trips.

The first-class buses will run long-distanced routes such as Seoul to Busan. Its fare has yet to be decided. But it will likely be set between 34,000 won of general tour buses to 53,000 won of KTX bullet train. Industry watchers expect 45,000 won.

Tour buses operating in the country have 28 seats in three rows, but the premium buses have reduced seats to 18 to 19 in two rows, providing more space for travelers to stretch their legs.

Also the seats recline, stretching to 140 degrees. Seats in operating tour buses also tilted to 128 degrees, but caused inconveniences for passengers in the back.

“The new seats, which resemble aircraft’s business class seats, allow travelers to lie without harming other passengers,” an official at Kumho Buslines, one of the eight operators of KOBUS, said.

The official said the new seats will be individual spaced and equipped with personal screen, tray tables and privacy barriers.

KOBUS said it will sign a memorandum of understanding with the manufacturer of the new buses, Hyundai Motor, in next month.