Currently, many buses are operating in our country. As public transportation, buses come in many types and different service grades. Have you ever wondered about this while riding a bus? Some buses cost 600 won to ride, while others labeled as "Deluxe Seat" cost 1,300 won. They may look similar, but city buses often have quite different appearances and service levels.

What Kind of Bus is a "Deluxe Seat" Bus?

Planned by: BusLife
Written by: Ji-Soo Kim
Photos by: Ji-Soo Kim, Jung-Seok Lee, Ji-Woon Jeon
Published: March 10, 2002

For those living outside the Seoul metropolitan area, the concept of a "Deluxe Seat" bus may feel somewhat unfamiliar.

Let’s get to know buses properly! In this first part, we take a closer look at the Deluxe Seat bus.

In Seoul city buses, seat buses are largely divided into two categories: regular seat buses and deluxe seat buses.

The traditional type is the "regular seat," while the "deluxe seat" was introduced in 1996 and continues to operate today. Until then, the types of buses used for city services were relatively low-grade compared to those used for express or intercity buses.

From the 1980s onward, models such as Hyundai FB485, RB520, AERO CITY 520/540, and Daewoo BF101, BV101, BS105, BS106 were typical seat bus vehicles.

This changed in 1992 with the birth of a new concept: the “Direct Seat” bus. Vehicles such as the BH115H, AERO 'E', and AM938AT—previously only used for express/intercity routes—were introduced into city service.

At that time, manufacturers did not produce these vehicles specifically as city buses, so all of them were equipped with intercity or express-type options before being deployed as direct seat buses.

These direct seat buses were numbered in the 1000s, connecting suburban areas to the city center, usually with fewer than 10 stops. However, due to numerous complaints and operational issues, in 1996 a new concept called the "Deluxe Seat" bus was introduced, and all direct seat buses were converted into deluxe seat buses.

Around this time, bus manufacturers also began producing vehicles specifically designed for deluxe seat service, and gradually these purpose-built buses entered service.

The vehicles introduced during this period included the BH115H deluxe type and the AERO SPACE LS (Turbo) deluxe type.

Meanwhile, the Seoul city government enacted regulations requiring that deluxe seat buses must have wider seat spacing than regular seat buses and be equipped with air suspension systems to ensure better ride comfort.

In 1997, Daewoo released the BH116 deluxe type, and by 1998, intercoolers were added to buses, expanding the deluxe seat lineup to include the BH115H Intercooler, BH116 Normal, BH116 Intercooler, and AERO SPACE LS Intercooler.

In 1998, Asia Motors launched the Granbird City, a simplified and lower-cost version of the Granbird Greenfield, at one point introducing deluxe seat buses powered by the EF-750 V8 engine.

As vehicle types diversified, deluxe seat buses came to be categorized into daytime deluxe, late-night deluxe, and direct deluxe services. Direct deluxe buses are further divided into regular direct and metropolitan direct services.

For reference, the remaining regular seat buses are separate from deluxe buses and are divided into daytime regular seat and late-night regular seat buses.

Since deluxe seat buses became more popular with passengers and more profitable, most companies began converting their fleets to deluxe seat buses when replacing vehicles. As a result, all regular seat buses currently operating in Seoul were manufactured before 1996.

More recently, ahead of the World Cup, Seoul introduced policies requiring mandatory use of NGV (natural gas) vehicles, resulting in a step back from the original deluxe seat concept. This created the so-called “NGV Deluxe Seat” buses.

If vehicles on par with Seoul City Tour buses had been introduced—with full-glass windows and reclining overhang seats comparable to express buses—this would have been understandable. But in reality, many buses retained interiors no different from regular seat buses, while still charging the higher deluxe fare—leading to the ironic situation of “deluxe” buses that were not deluxe at all.

Currently, the deluxe seat buses operating in Seoul include the following models:

● Hyundai Motor