Solutions sought to late night taxi shortage

Social Affairs

Published: 25 Jul. 2022, 19:21 Updated: 25 Jul. 2022, 19:25

Solutions sought to late night taxi shortage

People line up for cabs at the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Thursday. Demand for taxis has increased drastically since the end of social distancing measures, creating a shortage. [NEWS1]

To tackle a worsening taxi shortage in Korea, the government is considering lifting operation restrictions at night and adopting a new system for pairing cabs and passengers.

The measures were mentioned in a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's report delivered to the president on July 18, the ministry said Monday.

The transport ministry had announced it would apply a flexible fare system to taxis operating from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. to resolve the late-night taxi shortage. A 25 to 100 percent premium in fares is reportedly being considered.

In addition to the premium fares, the government is reviewing fully lifting the three-shift system for privately owned-taxis — which had drivers take every third day off, making a shortage of cabs more acute.

Seoul's city government temporarily lifted the three-shift system since April 20 to allow private cabs to operate from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. on their off-days. But seeing people's continued difficulty finding taxis at night, the government is considering lifting the shift system completely.

Measures to block drivers from choosing lucrative fares and turning away less lucrative, which is considered an aggravating factor in the late-night taxi shortage, are also being discussed.

A method automatically assigning a passenger to a taxi — without the driver knowing the destination — is under consideration.

Currently, taxis classified as Type 2 — operated by a taxi franchise business such as Kakao T Blue and Macaron Taxi — are being operated in this way.

However, about 250,000 taxis registered in Korea are classified as Type 3 or operated by agent services, the largest group. Type 3 is a form in which mobility platform operators only act as intermediaries between drivers and passengers.

Once an automatic allocation system is applied to Type 3 taxis in addition to a late-night premium, the government believes it can prevent drivers from refusing to take fares.

Another option being considered by the transport ministry is easing restrictions on Type 1 taxis like TADA, which are technically rental cars.

Platform operators of Type 1 taxis can do business without a taxi license, but have to pay five percent of sales to the government as a social contribution and can only run 420 vehicles.

In order to boost the supply of taxis, the ministry is considering lowering the social contributions or lifting the number of vehicles that can be operated.

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