Seoul expands Gangnam’s late-night autonomous taxis to 19

The late-night autonomous taxi is about to become less of a scarce sight in Gangnam. Starting Thursday, Seoul will raise the service’s fleet from seven to 19 vehicles, giving passengers more chances to book a ride through the Kakao T app. SWM will operate 13 cars, up from five, while Kakao Mobility will operate six, up from two.

The service has been running in Gangnam-gu since 2024. Between September 26, 2024, and July 31 this year, it recorded 15,140 rides. Passengers enter eligible pickup and destination points in the app, then select “Seoul Autonomous Car” from the taxi menu.

The next step is Sangam-dong, in western Seoul. From November, Seoul plans to introduce Level 4 autonomous vehicles — cars that can perform all driving tasks without human intervention under designated conditions. At first, a safety operator will likely sit in the front passenger seat. The city says it will consider removing staff from the vehicles after passengers become more familiar with the service, depending on public response.

Seoul also plans to extend autonomous taxi operations to all roads within the Gangnam service area, including school zones and other areas intended to protect vulnerable road users. A January regulatory revision removed the requirement for autonomous vehicles to be manually driven through certain restricted zones, clearing the way for that broader operation.

And so what, concretely? For late-night passengers in Gangnam, the immediate change is capacity: 19 vehicles instead of seven. For Seoul, the larger fleet comes before any decision to operate without staff on board.