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Busan Metropolitan City to Pilot and Demonstrate AI-Based Smart Escalator Safety Management Platform at Subway Station

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it will hold a demonstration of the AI-Based Smart Escalator Safety Management Platform today, August 26, at Centum City Station on Busan Metro Line 2, together with the Korea Elevator Safety Agency and other organizations, and begin verifying its applicability in real-world settings.

The newly introduced system is a next-generation safety management solution that uses artificial intelligence-based video analytics to detect risky behavior by escalator users in real time and immediately issue warnings on site.

Busan Metropolitan City organized the demonstration in collaboration with relevant organizations, including the Korea Elevator Safety Agency and Busan Transportation Corporation, to assess a prevention-focused safety management framework that identifies and addresses risky behavior in advance, moving beyond the conventional approach of responding only after incidents occur.

According to the National Elevator Information Center, South Korea had 885,928 elevators and escalators as of 2025, of which 41,935, or 4.7 percent, were escalators.

Busan has a total of 55,108 elevators and escalators, including 3,359 escalators, or 6.1 percent, giving the city the third-highest concentration in the country.

In particular, an annual average of 22.5 escalator accidents occurred nationwide over the past 10 years, with the accident rate relative to the number of units installed more than twice that of passenger elevators.

In Busan, 15 of the 28 elevator and escalator accidents reported over the past five years, or 54 percent, occurred on escalators. User negligence, including walking or running on escalators and failing to use handrails, was identified as a major cause, highlighting the need for prevention-focused safety management.

In response, Busan Metropolitan City and the Korea Elevator Safety Agency have installed the AI-Based Smart Escalator Safety Management Platform on a pilot basis at Centum City Station.

The system detects five major risky behaviors in real time: failure to use the handrail, walking or running, leaning outside the escalator, moving in the opposite direction, and using strollers or wheeled luggage.

When risky behavior is detected, warning lights and voice announcements are immediately activated on site to alert users to the hazardous situation and encourage compliance with safety guidelines.

Busan Metropolitan City plans to further enhance the system, including establishing a real-time connection with an integrated control system to enable an initial response in the event of an emergency.

A key feature of the newly introduced system is its scalability, as it was developed to integrate with existing escalators without requiring structural modifications.

Beginning with this pilot installation and demonstration, Busan Metropolitan City will closely analyze the system’s on-site applicability and performance before carefully considering whether to expand its deployment.

Kim Hyo-sook, Director-General of the Housing and Architecture Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “This pilot installation marks the first step in field verification aimed at preventing escalator accidents by applying advanced artificial intelligence technology to public transportation safety.”

“Through close cooperation with relevant organizations, we will thoroughly assess the system’s overall effectiveness and do our utmost to create an environment in which citizens can use escalators safely,” she added.