The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it will change the old public phone booth to an electric motorcycle battery charging station that can replace the discharged battery of the electric motorcycle with a buffered one to improve users' charging convenience.

The electric motorcycle battery replacement charging station will allow electric motorcycle users to get a buffered battery within 1 minute. In addition, it will be much easier to access and install the station, because it will utilize the existing public phone booth.

Delivery motorcycles have a 5-6 times longer mileage than regular motorcycles, emit a large number of air pollutants, and have been a major cause of noise in residential areas.

The SMG plans to replace 35,000 motorcycles, which are 100 percent of full-time delivery motorcycles, with electric ones by 2025. In October last year, the Ministry of Environment and electric motorcycle demand, supply, and charger associations signed a business agreement to convert motorcycles, which have internal combustion engines for full-time delivery, into electric motorcycles.

Electric motorcycles have had a limit to be used for delivery so far, as it has a long charging time (4 to 6 hours) and a driving distance of 50km per one-time charging. Usually, the delivery motorcycles run more than 150km per day on average.

It is expected that charging time will be drastically shortened if electric motorcycle battery replacement charging stations are installed.

The SMG is planning to install 150 locations this year and plans to install them first in areas with high delivery demand, such as the Gangnam area, and areas where single-person households are concentrated. Last month, 30 units were installed in Guro-gu, Dongjak-gu, and Songpa-gu, and additional 30 units will be installed by the end of this month.

The 150 units to be installed this time collaborated with DNA Motors-KT Linkus. It will also install 500 charging stations of various types this year, including 100 electric motorcycle charging stations with LG Energy Solution at convenience stores in Gangnam.

People can use the D-STATION app (search D-STATION in the app store) on smartphones to sign up for membership and purchase charging products. Small business owners in Seoul can use unlimited mileage products at a 30% discount every month for three months if they provide proof of business.

Kim Jung-sun, head of the Climate Change Response Division, said, "The old public telephone booth will be transformed into an electric motorcycle charging station, which will not only improve the city appearance but also solve the charging problem of electric motorcycles for delivery. We will do our best to replace 100% full-time delivery motorcycles with electric ones by 2025.”

Reported by Smart City Today