Incheon Taxi Base Fare to Increase by 1,000 Won from July... Late-Night Hours Extended by 2 Hours

Taxi fares in Incheon will be raised for the first time in over four years.

According to Incheon City on the 16th, starting from 4 a.m. on the 1st of next month, the base fare for regular mid-sized taxis will increase by 1,000 won (from 3,800 won to 4,800 won), and for deluxe and large taxis, it will rise by 500 won (from 6,500 won to 7,000 won).

The 20% late-night surcharge, currently applied from midnight to 4 a.m., will be extended by two hours to cover from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. after the change next month.

During the late-night hours, a 40% surcharge will be applied for three hours from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

This fare increase in Incheon taxis is the first in 4 years and 4 months since March 2019. While maintaining the same base fare system, Seoul City implemented a taxi fare increase starting in February, prompting Incheon and Gyeonggi Province to also pursue fare hikes.

Incheon City initially planned to raise taxi fares from February this year but froze the fares in the first half of the year in line with the government’s policy to stabilize the economy for ordinary citizens and control inflation.

In Seoul and Gyeonggi, the base fare for mid-sized taxis was raised by 1,000 won, and the distance (from 132m to 131m) and time (from 31 seconds to 30 seconds) units were shortened, resulting in increases in both distance and time charges.

In Incheon, although the base fare for mid-sized taxis increased by 1,000 won, the distance and time charges remain unchanged at 100 won per 135 meters and 100 won per 33 seconds, minimizing the overall increase.

For large and deluxe taxis, the base fare for the first 3 km increased by 500 won to 7,000 won, but like mid-sized taxis, the distance and time charges remain the same as the current rates.

Taxi [Photo by Asia Economy]

Along with the taxi fare increase, plans to improve taxi services and measures to enhance the treatment of transportation workers will also be implemented.

The city plans to conduct annual evaluations of corporate taxi company management and both corporate and individual taxi services. Based on the evaluation results, incentives and penalties will be applied to encourage participation from the taxi industry, while exploring ways to strengthen effectiveness by differentiating financial support.

Additionally, support to improve the working environment for corporate taxi drivers will be expanded, and companies will be advised to improve treatment.

Furthermore, with the cooperation of individual taxi operators, 98% of all taxis have joined the Taxi Transportation Information Management System (TIMS), enabling the city to obtain practical information on taxi operations and develop effective policies to improve services and advance the taxi industry.

Yoon Byung-cheol, head of the Taxi Transportation Division of Incheon City, said, "Considering the continuous deterioration of the taxi industry’s management and the economic burden on citizens comprehensively, and after gathering opinions from various sectors, we decided to raise taxi fares by 18.7%. As the fare increase will raise the burden on citizens, we will put more effort into improving the treatment of transportation workers and enhancing customer service."

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