Taxi rules to change so fewer people stranded late at night

People wait in line at a taxi stand in front of Seoul Station in Seoul on Tuesday. The government introduced measures that would ease the shortage of taxis late at night. [NEWS1]

Late-night charges for taxi hailing are being reformulated so that those looking for a ride after hours have a better chance of getting one.

The changes are being made by the government as it seeks to guarantee the "right to return home."

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the measures as it works to address the late night chaos that results from people being stranded by taxis looking for the biggest fares.

Under the new system, those looking for a taxi between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. can pay 5,000 won so that the destination is masked from the driver before the pick up, as some drivers will avoid fares traveling short distances.

For those paying the normal 3,000 won, the driver will still see where the customer is going.

A trial run will be conducted in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon through the end of the year.

Minister Won Hee-ryong stressed that the taxi crisis stems from the relatively low pay of taxi drivers.

"The problem is not because of lack of taxis but the displacement of drivers," Won said. "In the last two years, during Covid-19, many of the drivers moved to other jobs, such as designated drivers or delivery, and thus only 30 percent of company taxis operate."

"There is a need to improve the treatment of taxi drivers, who earn less than minimum wage," he added. "We expect the wage level of taxi drivers to improve as most of the call service fees will be distributed to taxi drivers."

According to the government, taxi rates in Korea are only 38 percent of the OECD average and the cost of fuel is up 35 percent from 2019.

Other measures include an end to mandatory breaks for drivers, a rule that has been in effect for five decades.

Taxi drivers have to take a day off after working for two days.

"This break system was first implemented in 1973 to lower oil consumption in the wake of the oil shock," Won said. "It has limited the supply of taxis."

The ministry said a test run was conducted in April in Chuncheon, and the lifting of the mandatory breaks helped increase supply of late night taxis by roughly 30 percent.

Barriers to the hiring of part-time drivers will be lowered, and the recruitment process will be simplified.

The minister also stressed the revitalization of innovative services that were blocked during the Moon Jae-in administration

"There have been debates regarding Tada and Uber services over the last couple of years," Won said. "Now we will not negotiate with vested interests that block innovation."

The minister said the administration's basic philosophy is to allow new services that could solve the late night transit problems.

Tada, a van taxi hailing service, was all but put out of business by the National Assembly.

Hailing a taxi has become difficult due to the lack of new services and Covid-19.

Since social distancing restrictions were lifted, taxi demand around midnight has more than tripled.

The number of taxi drivers employed by companies has declined by 30 percent since the end of 2019 to 74,000. In Seoul, the total dropped from 31,000 to 21,000 during the same period.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]