“Over the last 10 years, average daily bus ridership in Seoul has fallen by 19 percent, from 4.57 million in 2014 to 3.73 million in 2024, according to official city data released in April.” An article in the Korea Herald today describes the steady decline in passengers on Seoul buses over the past 10 years.

The Seoul city government is required to subsidizes private bus companies when they are not meeting their quota. Further they report that over 90 bus routes operate at a loss. “In contrast, subway usage rose from 38.2 to 44.7 percent, showing a growing preference for rail over road-based transit.”

We covered electric buses in three parts:

Part one, part two, and part three.