Daejeon City Strengthens Mobility Support Services for Transportation-Disadvantaged Groups

Daejeon City is stepping up efforts to enhance mobility support services for local transportation-vulnerable groups.

On the 4th, Daejeon City announced plans to expand services such as special transportation vehicles.

The plan was established to reduce waiting times for users, considering the increase in wheelchair users utilizing special transportation vehicles and the expansion of the operational scope of special transportation vehicles to a metropolitan level due to amendments in the Transportation Vulnerable Act.

Special transportation service (disabled call taxi). Photo by Asia Economy DB

According to the plan, Daejeon City will increase the number of special transportation vehicles from the current 96 by 50 units by 2026. This number exceeds the legally mandated number (134 vehicles) by 12.

Along with increasing the number of special transportation vehicles, the city will also increase the number of drivers. The number of drivers per vehicle, currently 1.2, will be increased by 5% annually to 1.35 per vehicle by 2026 to improve vehicle operation rates.

Special transportation vehicles refer to vehicles equipped with facilities such as wheelchair boarding equipment, established under the “Act on the Promotion of Convenience for Transportation Vulnerable Groups,” aimed at supporting the mobility of transportation-vulnerable individuals who experience difficulties in movement.

The plan also includes revitalizing voucher taxis within the region. Daejeon City plans to provide incentives such as performance bonuses and call fees to operators based on the number of trips, and expand voucher subsidies for users to promote the activation of voucher taxis.

Daejeon City expects that expanding operational infrastructure, including the increase of special transportation vehicles and the activation of voucher taxis, will reduce the current dispatch waiting time of around 24 minutes to within 19 minutes, thereby alleviating inconveniences for users of special transportation vehicles.

Ko Hyun-deok, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau of Daejeon City, stated, “We will continue to expand related services such as special transportation vehicles to ensure that transportation-vulnerable individuals can move safely and conveniently.”

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