Namhae-gun 'Transportation Voucher Taxi for the Mobility Disadvantaged' ... First Implementation in the County Starting July 1

The ‘Voucher Taxi’ system, allowing transportation-disadvantaged individuals such as people with disabilities, pregnant women, and the elderly to freely travel anywhere within the county for a basic fare of 2,000 won, will be introduced in Namhae-gun.

Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam Province, held a special transportation means review committee meeting on the 23rd and confirmed that starting from July 1, it will be the first county in the Gyeongnam region to introduce the voucher taxi system for transportation-disadvantaged people.

Namhae County Office, Gyeongnam.

The ‘Voucher Taxi’ system is a service where local taxi operators, while conducting their regular business, provide transportation anywhere within Namhae-gun for a basic fare of 2,000 won when a transportation-disadvantaged person requests a vehicle dispatch.

Namhae-gun currently operates seven so-called ‘Transportation-Disadvantaged Call Taxis’ equipped with wheelchair boarding facilities to support the mobility of transportation-disadvantaged individuals. However, 80% of users do not require wheelchair boarding facilities. Both wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users experience inconveniences such as vehicle dispatch delays.

With the introduction of the voucher taxi system, wheelchair users can use the existing ‘Transportation-Disadvantaged Call Taxi,’ while non-wheelchair users can use the ‘Voucher Taxi’ tailored to their needs, minimizing user inconvenience.

Non-wheelchair users such as people with disabilities, pregnant women, and the elderly who wish to use the voucher taxi must complete user registration by submitting a diagnosis or medical opinion indicating walking disabilities to the administrative welfare centers in their respective eup/myeon offices or the Construction and Transportation Division of Namhae-gun Office.

After completing membership registration, users can make reservations through the Gyeongsangnam-do Special Transportation Means Integrated Call Center or the smartphone app (Gyeongnam Special Transportation Means). The usage fee is a fixed 2,000 won per trip, with up to four trips per day and a monthly limit of 50,000 won.

Currently, in Gyeongnam Province, the voucher taxi system was first piloted with 30 vehicles in Gimhae City, followed by the introduction of 51 vehicles in Tongyeong City in March last year, 50 vehicles in Jinju City in June, and 142 vehicles in Changwon City in July, all of which are currently in operation.

As a result of implementing the voucher taxi system in city-level areas of Gyeongnam Province, the average vehicle dispatch waiting time, which was 67 minutes in 2021, decreased by 37% to an average of 40 minutes.

A total of 20 taxis in Namhae-gun will participate in the ‘Voucher Taxi’ program.

A Namhae-gun official stated, “We expect that the introduction of the voucher taxi will further enhance the mobility rights of transportation-disadvantaged individuals,” and added, “We will continue to strive to expand the overall public transportation infrastructure.”

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