Han River ferry launches online group reservation service

The Han River ferry service is introducing a reservation system — but only for groups of 10 to 30 people, and only on weekdays.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Han River Bus Co., the ferry operator, announced Tuesday that an online group reservation pilot will launch at 10 a.m. Monday at the Magok and Jamsil piers. Passengers who book through the new system can begin boarding from Tuesday.

The service was designed to meet growing demand from group riders as overall ridership has climbed, and to make weekday group travel more convenient. Under the current system, passengers receive numbered tickets on a first-come, first-served basis at the pier, making it difficult for groups to secure seats in advance.

The pilot will run on weekdays only at the two piers. Reservations can be made through Naver Maps or Naver Place for any weekday sailing. Users search for and select a pier, click the reservation button, then enter the travel date, route, sailing number, party size and contact details before paying the base fare upfront — 3,000 won for adults, 1,800 won for teenagers and 1,100 won for children. Group bookings require a minimum of 10 people and a maximum of 30 per sailing.

On the day of travel, reservation holders must arrive at the pier at least 30 minutes before departure and complete boarding procedures — including confirmation of their booking and a boarding declaration — under the guidance of on-site safety staff.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Han River Bus Co. plan to review the pilot's results and passenger feedback before deciding whether to continue the service and whether to expand it to additional piers.

"We introduced this online group reservation service on a trial basis to ease the boarding difficulties that weekday group passengers have faced and to make the Han River ferry more convenient to use," said Park Jin-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Han River Bureau. "We will work to improve the service based on the pilot results and user feedback, and to provide services that better meet the needs of more citizens."

The ferry recorded 115,387 passengers last month, surpassing 100,000 monthly riders for the first time. With weekend tourism ridership on the rise, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is pushing to raise weekend fares in the first half of next year.