Driverless rides in Seoul, South Korea

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Kakao Mobility: Kakao Mobility has run its own self-driving cars in Seoul's Gangnam late-night autonomous taxi service since March 16, 2026. The cars are Kia EV6s with Kakao Mobility's in-house driving software. Service runs on weekday nights from 10 pm to 5 am, booked as Seoul Autonomous Vehicle (서울자율차) in Kakao T, inside the Gangnam autonomous driving pilot zone (about 20.4 sq km). Rides became paid on April 6, 2026, at the city's flat fares of ₩4,800 to ₩6,700 depending on the hour. The fleet grew from 2 to 6 cars on August 20, 2026, when the cars also began driving autonomously through child and senior protection zones. SWM runs the other 13 cars in the same service. Approximate service area, about 7.1 sq mi (18 km²), traced by AVwhere from the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Gangnam late-night autonomous taxi map (the outer edge of its drawn service roads; the map covers both operators), accurate to about 150 m. Not official boundary data.

SWM: Seoul's Gangnam late-night autonomous taxi, run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government with SWM as its first operator. Free pilot rides began on September 26, 2024, and paid service started on April 6, 2026. It runs on weekday nights from 10 pm to 5 am and is booked as Seoul Autonomous Vehicle (서울자율차) in the Kakao T app. Pickup and destination must both be inside the Gangnam autonomous driving pilot zone (about 20.4 sq km). Fares are flat and depend only on the hour: ₩4,800 from 4 to 5 am, ₩5,800 from 10 to 11 pm and 2 to 4 am, and ₩6,700 from 11 pm to 2 am. SWM has run 13 of the 19 cars since August 20, 2026 (KGM Korando EV, plus Torres EVX from September 2026); Kakao Mobility runs the other 6. Up to three passengers. Approximate service area, about 7.1 sq mi (18 km²), traced by AVwhere from the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Gangnam late-night autonomous taxi map (the outer edge of its drawn service roads; the map covers both operators), accurate to about 150 m. Not official boundary data.

Autonomous A2Z: Seoul's Cheonggye A01 autonomous bus runs a 4.8 km round trip along the Cheonggyecheon Stream from Cheonggye Plaza past Cheonggye 3-ga (Sewoon Plaza) to Cheonggye 5-ga (Gwangjang Market) and back, with 11 stops across both directions. Since October 22, 2026 it runs on weekday nights only: departures from Cheonggye Plaza every 30 minutes from 7 pm, nine trips a night, the last at 11 pm, about 50 minutes a trip; no service on weekends or public holidays. Two ROii shuttles by Autonomous A2Z, with no steering wheel or driver's seat, each carry up to 8 riders plus a safety operator. Rides are free for now, but riders must tap a transit card; Seoul plans a fare of ₩1,400 for adults later. Stops and live bus positions show in Naver Map and KakaoMap under 청계 A01. The daytime service that ran from September 2025 has ended.

Avride: Avride Korea, Avride's Seoul subsidiary since 2021, tests Hyundai Ioniq 5 cars fitted with Avride's lidar and sensors. In September 2024 its CEO said the cars drive almost every day around Gangnam-daero, chosen because Gangnam's roads are among the most complex anywhere. No rides are offered. Reported test area, not a service area.

Pony.ai: Public-road testing in the Gangnam autonomous driving pilot zone since a temporary test permit from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on December 26, 2024 (32 roads across 20.4 sq km, Hyundai Kona Electric vehicles with Pony.ai's sixth-generation system, operated with partner PonyLink, now FutureLink). In August 2026 Pony.ai and FutureLink agreed to bring 200 Gen-7 robotaxis to Korea by 2028, starting with 10 vehicles for certification and launching first in Gangnam.

RideFlux: RideFlux tests Level 4 cars with no one in the driver's seat around Sangam-dong in Mapo-gu, Seoul's autonomous driving pilot zone, under the only driver-out temporary operating permit the transport ministry has issued. A safety manager rides in the front passenger seat. By August 2026 it had logged more than 3,300 hours of driver-out testing there, and it plans a public robotaxi service in Sangam in 2026 with the driver's seat empty and the safety manager still in the passenger seat. No rides are offered yet.

Apollo Go: Baidu says Apollo Go entered South Korea starting with the Seoul metropolitan area (February 2026) and registered Baidu Apollo Korea in Gangnam on April 30, 2026, with ride-hailing and shuttle services among its stated purposes. No testing, partner or public rides have been reported; a joint venture with local firm HIM is reportedly being pursued.

Latest updates

• Oct 22, 2026 Seoul's Cheonggye A01 autonomous bus switches to weekday nights Seoul Metropolitan Government Officially verified
• Oct 19, 2026 Seoul picks RideFlux to run its Sangam Level 4 robotaxi, with rides expected from late November (report) The Electronic Times
• Oct 15, 2026 AP-700 computer enters production and could reach SWM robotaxis this year Dealsite
• Sep 30, 2026 SWM joins Korea's M.AX Alliance; the trade minister rides its Gangnam robotaxi Herald Business
• Sep 11, 2026 Baidu Apollo Korea registered in Gangnam as Baidu prepares a Seoul robotaxi push The Korea Herald
• Sep 2, 2026 KGM adds eight Torres EVX robotaxis to SWM's Gangnam fleet Seoul Shinmun
• Sep 2, 2026 SWM's Gangnam robotaxis get bases at taxi company garages Seoul Shinmun
• Aug 28, 2026 Pony.ai and FutureLink plan 200 Gen-7 robotaxis in Korea by 2028, starting in Gangnam The Korea Times
• Aug 20, 2026 Gangnam late-night autonomous taxi fleet grows from 7 to 19 cars Seoul Metropolitan Government Officially verified
• Aug 20, 2026 Kakao Mobility triples its Gangnam fleet and drives through protection zones Kakao Mobility newsroom Officially verified

8 older updates are in the archive for members

Questions

Can I ride today?

Kakao Mobility, SWM and Autonomous A2Z: Yes. Anyone can ride.

Avride, Pony.ai, RideFlux and Apollo Go: No public rides. No passenger service is available to the public here.

How do I book?

Kakao Mobility and SWM: Kakao T.

Autonomous A2Z: Walk-up.

Avride, Pony.ai, RideFlux and Apollo Go: No public booking channel listed.

Is anyone in the driver’s seat?

Kakao Mobility, SWM, Autonomous A2Z and RideFlux: A safety supervisor rides along.

Avride, Pony.ai and Apollo Go: AVwhere has not confirmed this.

Sources and limitations

• Kakao Mobility · mediahub.seoul.go.kr · Service area: english.seoul.go.kr · Last verified Oct 13, 2026Added from Kakao Mobility and Seoul Metropolitan Government announcements and Korean press coverage; not yet in the coverage sheet. Weekday nights only. A safety driver rides in every car. The dashed area is the outer edge of the service roads on the city's map, shared with SWM; check the Kakao T app for exact pickup points.Regulator publishes one map image for all operators, no boundary data.
• SWM · mediahub.seoul.go.kr · Service area: english.seoul.go.kr · Last verified Oct 13, 2026Added from Seoul Metropolitan Government releases and Korean press coverage; not yet in the coverage sheet. Weekday nights only. A safety driver rides in every car and drives manually on some narrow streets. The dashed area is the outer edge of the service roads on the city's map; pickups and drop-offs are limited to approved points, so check the Kakao T app. Kakao Mobility's cars serve the same zone.Regulator publishes one map image for all operators, no boundary data.
• Autonomous A2Z · english.seoul.go.kr · Not fully re-checked since Nov 8, 2026Added from Seoul Metropolitan Government releases and Autonomous A2Z's own page; not yet in the coverage sheet. Fixed route with stops, not on-demand. A safety operator rides on every trip, so the rides are not fully driverless. Free during the first period of night service; Seoul has not said when fares start. A2Z's own page still shows the old weekday daytime timetable; Seoul's release is newer. The marker is at Cheonggye Plaza, where the route starts and ends; AVwhere hasn't drawn the route yet.Regulator publishes route map images, no route data.
• Avride · donga.com · Last verified Oct 14, 2026Added at the user's request from a September 2024 interview; not yet in the coverage sheet. That is the latest report found: searches on October 14, 2026 found no newer source confirming Avride still tests in Gangnam. The test area on the map is drawn by AVwhere around the road the CEO named, not Avride's boundary. Testing only; no rides.
• Pony.ai · sec.gov · Service area: koreatimes.co.kr · Last verified Oct 12, 2026Added from Pony.ai announcements and filings; not yet in the coverage sheet. Testing only; no public rides. Launch depends on Korean certification; the partners target 2028 for 200 vehicles.
• RideFlux · rideflux.com · Last verified Nov 8, 2026Added from RideFlux's own releases; not yet in the coverage sheet. Testing only: no public rides or fares yet. Korean press reports that Seoul picked RideFlux to run a Sangam Level 4 taxi from late November 2026, but neither Seoul nor RideFlux has confirmed the operator or a date, so this listing stays Testing until one of them does. The marker is Sangam-dong; RideFlux has not published its test routes.
• Apollo Go · technode.global · Service area: biz.heraldcorp.com · Last verified Oct 12, 2026Added from Baidu results releases, partner and regulator statements and trade coverage; not yet in the coverage sheet. Shown as announced because no on-road activity has been reported.

Nearby

• Daegu Autonomous A2Z · open to the public
• Gwangju Hyundai & Kia · not open to the public yet