Seoul Debuts Self-driving Taxis
Autonomous transportation is quickly becoming a reality in Seoul. On September 26th, the capital city took another step by introducing the nation’s first service for driverless taxis.The new service follows the launching of an autonomous bus service in Seoul in December 2023. Now, a similar service for autonomous taxis is being offered at nighttime in downtown Seoul.The taxi service is available from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and is composed of three vehicles. They travel within a select area in the Gangnam district, and each can accommodate up to three passengers.The self-driving taxis were developed by KG Mobility and SWM in 2022. The two companies produced special sensors and A.I. networks and analyzed the potential risks of the vehicles.To ensure the new service’s safety, a human operator is seated in the driver’s seat. This person does not drive unless the vehicle enters certain areas like construction sites and school zones, where autonomous driving is legally prohibited. In these areas, the human operator is obligated to take the steering wheel.People can hail an autonomous taxi through the Kakao T app on their smartphones. The service is free during the promotional period, which runs until the end of this year.Many people are enthusiastic about the autonomous taxis and are impressed by the technological achievement. Others, however, believe that it is premature to allow them on the street and worry about possible glitches.Seoul government officials said they would carefully evaluate the new transportation service during the initial introduction. If all goes well, they plan to add more self-driving taxis and expand the number of routes in May 2025.
Questions:
1. What city introduced driverless taxis?
2. What time is the taxi service available?
3. How many passengers can the self-driving taxis carry?
4. What app do people use to hail an autonomous taxi?
5. Would you like to ride in a self-driving taxi?
Why or why not?
What do you think about technology like autonomous taxis?
