Icheon Expands "Hope Taxi" Service for Transportation-Disadvantaged Areas from 60 to 71 Villages

Expansion of "Hope Taxi" Service
to 71 Villages in Icheon
Targeting Areas Affected by Bus Route Closures
and Citizen Requests

On September 4, the city of Icheon in Gyeonggi Province announced that it will expand the service area of the "Hope Taxi" program for residents in transportation-disadvantaged regions from the current 60 villages to 71 villages, starting from September 8.

The "Hope Taxi" is a public taxi service supported by the city, allowing residents living in areas with limited transportation options to use taxis connecting major regional hubs at affordable fares.

This expansion of the Hope Taxi service area targets locations where 22 remote bus routes were discontinued in the Janghowon-eup and Yul-myeon areas due to the introduction of the demand-responsive transit (DRT) service called "Ddok Bus," as well as areas that reflected suggestions from citizens during the mayor's district visits.

The newly added areas include: ▲ Three villages in Yul-myeon (Sanyang 1-ri, Sanyang 2-ri, Sanseong 1-ri) ▲ Four villages in Janghowon-eup (Narae 1-ri, Narae 2-ri, Narae 3-ri, Eoseok 1-ri) ▲ Two villages in Seolseong-myeon (Shinpil 1-ri, Sangbong 3-ri) ▲ One village in Moga-myeon (Sannae-ri) ▲ One village in Majang-myeon (Gwan 4-ri).

Residents in these areas can make a reservation one hour in advance through the Icheon City branded call taxi call center, board at the village community center, and travel to designated hub stops.

The city also plans to expand the Hope Taxi service to Shindun and Majang, where the Ddok Bus will be introduced in November, by the first half of next year.

Kim Kyunghee, Mayor of Icheon, stated, "We will continue to expand the operation of the Hope Taxi to create an environment where residents of areas with inconvenient transportation can travel more easily," adding, "We will continue to promote user-centered transportation services in the future."

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