World’s No.1 Mobile Phone Penetration!!! In South Korea, you could probably count on your fingers the number of adults without a mobile phone. These days, phones aren’t just for calls—people play games, and full-scale video services are just around the corner.
As mobile phones become more useful, battery consumption has also increased. Battery performance has improved, but usage time still often feels insufficient.
This time, BusLife looked into a free mobile phone charger for bus passengers developed by DMDA Co., Ltd. and pilot-installed by Airport Bus Co., Ltd.
Free Mobile Phone Charger for Bus Passengers
Directed & Reported by: BusLife
Published: October 27, 2002
It is currently being piloted on Airport Bus route 128. A sticker like the one on the left is attached to the front of the pilot vehicle.
Route 128 operates between Banghwa-dong ~ Yeongdeungpo ~ Seoul Station.
For now, only one vehicle is equipped, and only the first three seats on the driver’s side are fitted.
They say that before long, the entire Airport Bus fleet will be equipped.
You’re probably wondering how the charger is installed. Some might worry it’s as bulky as the rapid chargers you see at convenience stores—but no need to.
If you board the bus, you’ll see a device like the one on the right installed up to the third row behind the driver’s seat.
The jack is a USB port, and you can use it by purchasing an adapter that fits your specific phone model.
The power supply is a precise 4.5V, and it remains stable at exactly 4.5V regardless of any bus operations such as running the air conditioner or turning on interior lights while the bus is in service.
This is the technology at work: maintaining a stable 4.5V in any condition is the key feature of this mobile phone charger.
As shown on the left, once you connect your phone to the charger with a USB plug, charging starts automatically.
One drawback is that you can’t visually confirm whether the phone is charging or not.
It would be even better if there were an indicator light to show charging status.
Usually, only one person sits in each of the front seats, so each of those seats is set up to charge one phone. In the rear, where seats are arranged in pairs, they plan to allow two people to charge simultaneously.
The photo above shows two people charging at the same time. It’s very convenient since you can sit and charge while you ride. And there’s no worry about leaving your phone behind when you get off…
Another advantage is that you can make calls and play games while charging. With traditional rapid chargers in convenience stores or public places, you couldn’t make calls or play games during charging. In comparison, this bus passenger charger is open-access, so you can freely make calls while charging.
Let me show you a proper demo to prove that it really charges.
To give you a real demonstration, we prepared a phone with a dead battery.
The phone model is the author’s own SKY IM-2000T. It’s an older device, but we wanted to show that even older models can be charged.
We all know the “outgoing-call barred” message is just for show, right? Hopefully no one thinks it’s actually blocked.
At this point the phone is on the verge of shutting off. Let’s rescue this phone, which will soon “fall asleep” if we don’t charge it quickly.
As shown on the left, just connect the USB plug to the seat’s USB port. It’s free, so there’s no need to worry about cost.
Once the phone’s plug is inserted into the in-vehicle port, you’re all set for charging.
Just enjoy the ride and look out the window until you get off. If a call comes in, answer it; if you want to make a call, go ahead; if you want to play a game, play a game.
On the left is an overall view of the phone charging; on the right is the phone being charged.
Compare the time with the photos above.
At 10/26 (Sat) 04:31 PM, the battery was empty, but once the plug was connected and charging began, by 10/26 (Sat) 04:34 PM the battery had climbed to two bars.
There’s no on-screen indication during charging, so it’s inconvenient to confirm whether charging is actually happening. If the battery was dead like in this example, it’s easy to tell, but if the battery already had some charge, it’s harder to notice.
Still, it’s clearly charging. I think it would be nice for the production version to include a charging indicator light.
The photo on the left shows a phone call in progress while charging.
People typically ride the bus for more than 30 minutes; being able to charge your low battery while riding is a real convenience.
There’s no need to pay to charge at a convenience store when you can conveniently top up while taking the bus—how great is that?
That said, this isn’t an invitation to ride the bus just to charge your phone. But when you do take the bus—to meet a friend or head home—make use of it conveniently.
Since this is a first-of-its-kind development, a few aspects still need improvement. Speaking as an early user, let me wrap up with a couple of inconveniences.
First, I wish there were a charging indicator light when the phone is charging. There’s no indication on the phone or the charger, so once you connect it, you can’t tell if it’s actually charging.
Of course, if it’s connected it should be charging, but an indicator would still be helpful. For example, if the entire box lit up when the plug is inserted, it would look good from a design perspective and could also highlight any advertisement placed on it.
Second, I think this device would be even more effective on long-distance routes like intercity and express buses rather than regular city buses.
On long trips, running low on battery can be a real headache, so installing this on express buses would be even better.
Third, it would be great if the device not only charged phones but also provided estimated time of arrival (ETA). Since many buses now use GPS-based location systems, integrating ETA guidance would be a nice feature.
Perhaps this all sounds like a dream. But charging a phone on a bus once seemed like a dream, too. Nothing is impossible; I hope this product keeps improving and evolves to offer even more features.
When that day comes, the bus will serve not just as a means of transport but also as a platform for delivering information.
