Seoul admits more taxis needed late at night

Taxis wait for passengers in front of Seoul Station in central Seoul on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Talk about an overly rapid return to so-called normalcy: getting a taxi late at night is impossible just days after the business curfew was lifted, and Seoul is temporarily lifting night-time operating restrictions for privately-owned taxis.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday announced measures to fix the late-night shortage of taxis that went into effect Wednesday.

According to the city government, the number of taxi rides in Seoul between midnight and 2:00 a.m. on Monday, the first day when almost all social distancing measures were lifted — including limits on gathering sizes and the business curfew — was 69,362, almost double the average of 35,346 rides recorded on Mondays in the second and third weeks of February this year, when the curfew was 9 p.m.

Seoul's city government temporarily lifted the three-shift system starting Wednesday. Under the three-shift system, private cabs in Seoul had to take every third day off. The lifting of the restriction allowed private cabs to operate from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. even on their off-days. The city believes the policy will allow an average of 2,000 private taxis to be added a day.

In addition, the city government found that some 1,400 private taxis in the city halted operations without notice. By imposing administrative measures such as revoking their business licenses, the city wants to increase the overall taxi operation rate.

The operating hours of late-night taxis, which was from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. from Monday through Saturday, will be extended by two hours to 7 p.m. to 9 a.m., the city added. The city expects around 2,700 private cabs to be gradually converted to late-night operating taxis.

In addition, the Seoul Metropolitan Government warned of a crackdown in areas grappling with cab shortages such as Gangnam and Hongdae in downtown Seoul on taxis that choose to refuse less lucrative fares.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]