A demand-responsive bus [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]
A demand-responsive bus [Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

Inje-gun announced Sunday it will introduce an AI-powered on-demand bus service that dispatches vehicles when residents call for them.

The county was selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' pilot project to develop and test an AI-based demand-responsive transport model tailored to rural communities.

Unlike conventional buses that follow fixed routes and timetables, the service uses AI to analyze ride requests and reservations in real time, generating the most efficient route on the fly.

Inje-gun plans to apply the demand-responsive system first to a single vehicle currently operating the county-run "Haneulnaerin Village Bus" in Sangnam-myeon.

During peak commuting hours the vehicle will continue running its existing fixed route. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. — when ridership is relatively low — it will switch to the on-demand model, dispatching only when residents request a ride.

Riders can book trips by specifying their pickup and drop-off points through a smartphone app or by phone. Once a reservation is received, the AI aggregates all pending travel requests and instantly calculates the optimal route before dispatching the vehicle. Phone booking will remain available so that elderly residents less comfortable with smartphones can use the service without difficulty.

Inje-gun expects the project to improve residents' daily mobility — covering errands such as grocery shopping, hospital visits and trips to administrative and welfare facilities — while also boosting the efficiency of public transport operations by matching vehicle deployment to actual demand.

Based on the results in Sangnam-myeon, the county is also considering a phased expansion of the demand-responsive bus service to Nam-myeon and Girin-myeon.


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