Daejeon City Introduces Priority 'Voucher Taxi' for Transportation-Disadvantaged... First in Chungcheong Region

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City is introducing and operating voucher taxis that prioritize transportation-disadvantaged individuals. This is the first introduction of voucher taxis in the Chungcheong region.

The city announced on the 7th that it has been operating 60 voucher taxis since the 1st. Voucher taxis refer to vehicles that operate as regular taxis under normal circumstances but prioritize responding to requests from transportation-disadvantaged individuals registered with the Daejeon Transportation Disadvantaged Mobility Support Center to provide transportation services.

These taxis can be used by transportation-disadvantaged individuals who do not use wheelchairs by applying through immediate call service at the same fare as the existing special transportation means (basic fare of 1,000 KRW for a 3 km section, with an additional 100 KRW per 440 m for extra distance).

Before introducing voucher taxis, the city gathered expert opinions through meetings and forums with disability organizations and the taxi industry, resulting in a policy to operate 90 exclusive taxis for non-wheelchair transportation-disadvantaged individuals alongside the voucher taxis.

As a result, Daejeon now simultaneously operates 82 specially equipped vehicles with wheelchair boarding facilities (disability call taxis) as special transportation means, 90 exclusive taxis for non-wheelchair transportation-disadvantaged individuals, and 60 voucher taxis.

The city plans to gradually expand the number of voucher taxis to 150. Inquiries about using voucher taxis and membership registration can be checked through the Daejeon Transportation Disadvantaged Mobility Support Center website.

Kang Gyu-chang, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau of the city, said, “With the introduction of voucher taxis, the waiting time, which has been the biggest inconvenience for transportation-disadvantaged individuals, is expected to be significantly reduced.” He added, “The city will continuously monitor the usage status of voucher taxis and do its best to ensure that local transportation-disadvantaged individuals do not experience inconvenience in mobility.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.