South Korea’s autonomous driving startup RideFlux Inc. together with ride-sharing leader SoCar Inc. has put self-driving shuttle on the roads of Jeju, a southern resort island of the country.

The two companies launched the autonomous shuttle for trial service in Jeju Island on Monday. The service is the first of its kind operated by private companies in Korea.

The shuttle vehicle that can sit maximum two in the back seat will carry renters of SoCar cars for a 5-kilometer drive between a bus stop outside the Jeju Airport and SoCar rental station for car pickup or return.

The trial service, which will have a human driver during the test period, is free for users of SoCar rents and runs from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

RideFlux has conducted more than 8,000 minutes of travels through 1,600 tests over a six month period for the safety and quality check of the autonomous shuttle. Its autonomous shuttle has driven an accumulated total of 8,163 minutes, as of May 12. It also has proven safety for road travel with more than 10 cars within a 50-meter radius, as well as complex roads with intersections, pedestrian crossings, and merging lanes.

“Our goal is to bring innovation in mobility through autonomous driving to enable more pleasant and safer travelling experience,” said Park Joong-hee, chief executive officer of RideFlux.

The company plans to expand its driverless shuttle’s operation to all roads in Jeju within this year, according to Park.

By Oh Dae-seok and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]