"Almost Couldn't Get Home"…Citizens Stuck Amid Late-Night Taxi Chaos

With Social Distancing Lifted, 'Taxi Crisis'... Citizens Complain of Inconvenience
Some Citizens Returning Home by Shared Bicycles and Electric Kickboards Due to Taxi Shortage
Corporate Taxis Decreased by 26.9% Compared to Pre-COVID
Seoul City Considers Measures Such as Changing Late-Night Surcharge Hours and Extending Subway Operation
"New Mobility Services That Can Flexibly Respond to Supply and Demand Must Be Introduced"

The day after the full lifting of social distancing measures for COVID-19 prevention, past midnight on the 19th, citizens are standing near Gangnam Station in Seoul trying to catch a taxi.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] #. "I thought I wouldn't be able to go home." Last Friday night, Kim (28), who finished a gathering near Mapo-gu, Seoul, had to wander along the roadside for nearly an hour because he couldn't catch a taxi. He and his friend each tried to call a taxi using different taxi apps, but no taxis were available. Eventually, he took the last subway train on Line 2 to a transfer station to try catching a taxi again, but failed once more. The roads near the subway station were crowded with people trying to catch taxis even before Kim arrived. Some citizens were seen renting public bicycles or electric kickboards to get home.

Citizens are increasingly voicing discomfort over the late-night taxi crisis. It has become difficult to get home by taxi during late-night hours when public transportation such as subways and buses have stopped running. Especially on Friday and weekend nights, catching a taxi is said to be "like picking stars from the sky." There are also complaints that some taxi drivers are engaging in 'trick driving' by only accepting long-distance passengers.

As some citizens failed to catch taxis, a bizarre scene unfolded where people returned home using shared bicycles and electric kickboards. On online communities, there are frequent posts complaining about nearly being seriously injured by citizens riding bicycles or kickboards while intoxicated. According to current Road Traffic Act regulations, riding bicycles or electric kickboards with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 0.03% can result in penalties.

Experts cite the increase in nighttime foot traffic following the lifting of social distancing measures and the decline in taxi operation rates as causes of the taxi crisis. According to the Korea Taxi Transport Business Association Federation on the 25th, as of February, the number of corporate taxi drivers was 74,754, a 26.9% decrease compared to before COVID-19 (December 2019). In particular, the number of corporate taxi drivers in Seoul dropped by 29% from 29,203 in February 2020 to 20,709 this February over two years.

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is considering measures. To resolve the taxi crisis, the city is reviewing a plan to change the current late-night taxi fare surcharge period from midnight to 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. This would be the first change in 40 years since the late-night surcharge was first applied in 1982. However, a similar plan to move the surcharge period one hour earlier was rejected by the Seoul Price Committee in 2018, so it is uncertain whether the change will be possible.

On the 28th of last month, the city and Seoul Transportation Corporation also announced they would consider extending subway operations until 1 a.m. Previously, subway operations were shortened from 1 a.m. to midnight in 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but to meet transportation demand such as the taxi crisis, the plan to extend operations back to 1 a.m. is under review. However, since Seoul Transportation Corporation reportedly recorded a deficit close to 1 trillion won last year, concerns have been raised that cost issues must be resolved first.

Private taxis are waiting to pick up passengers at the taxi stand in Seoul Station, Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Some argue that poor working conditions and abnormal profit structures have caused the taxi shortage. Compared to daily workers in freight and delivery, taxi drivers earn less relative to their working hours, and high deposit fees lead drivers to quit the taxi business. The aging demographic of taxi drivers, who tend to avoid late-night shifts, is also cited as another cause, prompting suggestions that the government and local authorities should devise incentives to attract drivers to the taxi industry.

However, experts point out that increasing taxi supply is only a temporary measure. Professor Yoo Jung-hoon of Ajou University's Department of Transportation Systems Engineering said, "Current measures such as extending late-night surcharge hours and raising fares are ultimately intended to increase supply, but if supply increases indiscriminately, new problems will arise when transportation environments change later. Flexible smart mobility services that can respond to the gap between supply and demand are needed."

He further diagnosed that this taxi crisis phenomenon arises from a mismatch between transportation demand and supply. Professor Yoo explained, "It is especially difficult to match supply and demand in transportation. If supply is adjusted to daytime, there will be shortages during peak commuting hours with high foot traffic, and if the number of taxis is increased for commuting hours, problems arise during the daytime."

He emphasized that it is time for the government to take the lead in considering the introduction of new mobility services. Professor Yoo said, "(The global ride-sharing platform) Uber ceased operations in Korea nine years ago, and this is no longer a matter to delay. Sudden changes cannot be demanded from the existing taxi industry, so a smooth transition with sufficient time, incentives, and resolution of conflicts between industries is necessary, and ultimately the government must lead this. Not only from the perspective of the sharing economy but also to flexibly respond to the mismatch between supply and demand in transportation, the introduction of new mobility services must be considered."

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