Hangang Bus ridership tops 300,000 since launch last September

A Hangang Bus river ferry / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Seoul's Hangang Bus river ferry service has surpassed 300,000 cumulative passengers since launching official operations in September 2025, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday.

The city said the service carried 104,498 passengers from its official launch on Sept. 18, 2025, through Feb. 28, when only the Magok-Yeouido segment operated on a partial schedule.

After full-route service resumed March 1, ridership climbed steadily, reaching a cumulative total of more than 300,000 as of Tuesday, with an additional 196,229 passengers recorded since the full resumption of operations.

The pace of ridership growth has accelerated since the full route reopened. The service took 47 days — from March 1 to April 16 — to record its first 100,000 passengers following the resumption, but subsequent ridership has come in at a faster clip.

The city said an additional milestone of 200,000 passengers since the resumption could be reached as early as this week.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the figures indicate that public demand for the Hangang Bus as a new mode of water-based transportation is gaining momentum.

In a related development, the opening of a temporary pier at Seoul Forest — intended to serve visitors attending the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show, which has been running at the park since May 1 — has been postponed to June from its originally planned opening on Wednesday.

The city said the delay was necessary due to structural differences between the Seoul Forest pier and existing piers, with the new facility measuring 35 meters compared to the standard 40 meters at other locations, as well as the need for crews to adapt to the new route. Training exercises are continuing in cooperation with Hangang Bus Co., the private operator of the service.

"The Hangang Bus has established itself as a new mode of water transportation, with steady ridership since the resumption of full-route service," a Seoul Metropolitan Government official said.

"We will make safety our top priority in preparing the Seoul Forest pier so that citizens can use it with confidence."

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.