Hwaseong City Designated as New Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Zone

[Suwon Ilbo=Park Chan-hyeok] Hwaseong City has been newly designated as an autonomous vehicle pilot zone for the second half of 2024.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a committee meeting on autonomous vehicle pilot zones on the 2nd and designated pilot zones for six new districts including Hwaseong City and expansion requests from three existing districts.

Autonomous vehicle pilot zones are areas designated to promote autonomous driving demonstrations, with special provisions granted for autonomous passenger and cargo transportation services.

Hwaseong City was selected as an autonomous driving living lab demonstration city in November last year and completed the selection of routes for eight public services demonstrations. In August, it applied for new designation as an autonomous vehicle pilot zone and was newly designated through on-site inspections and evaluations by the pilot zone committee.

Hwaseong City's autonomous vehicle pilot zone is designated as the largest pilot zone nationwide, centered on Namyang-eup and covering an area of 30.13㎢ including Saeseol-dong, Songsan-myeon, and Mado Industrial Complex, with driving routes extending 24.4km.

The pilot zone plans to demonstrate eight autonomous driving living lab public services starting in 2026, including △transportation support for mobility-disadvantaged individuals △demand-responsive public transportation mobility △autonomous shared vehicles △designated route public transportation △traffic accident prevention patrols.

Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun stated, "The designation as an autonomous vehicle pilot zone is the first step in introducing autonomous driving services to Hwaseong City," and added, "A genuine autonomous driving era will open in Hwaseong."