"Gyeonggi Welfare Taxi for the Price of a Bus Fare Opens Era of 1 Million Annual Users"

Welfare Taxi Users Surge 39-Fold in Gyeonggi Province in 10 Years
Participating Villages Increase 9.8-Fold... Key Driver in Eliminating Transport Blind Spots
This Year, 10.3 Billion Won Allocated... Strengthening Tailored Mobility Services by City and County

Gyeonggi Province's "demand-responsive welfare taxi," which has become a reliable means of transportation for residents in underserved areas with insufficient bus routes, surpassed 1 million users last year, setting a new milestone in transport welfare.

A citizen using Gyeonggi Province's "on-demand welfare taxi." Provided by Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 26th that the total number of welfare taxi users last year reached 1,056,054. This represents an approximately 39-fold surge compared with 2015, the first year of the service, when there were 26,858 users. The number of participating villages also increased from 88 at the beginning to 867 last year, an approximately 9.8-fold rise over 10 years, demonstrating that the service has expanded to every corner of the province.

The "demand-responsive welfare taxi" mainly supports rural or mountainous areas and city outskirts where bus routes are insufficient or bus intervals are long. Users only pay the bus fare level set by each city or county (between 1,000 and 2,000 won). The remaining difference in taxi fares is covered by subsidies from the national government, the provincial government, and city and county governments.

Gyeonggi Province explained that the welfare taxi supports essential daily travel for senior citizens and transportation-vulnerable groups, such as hospital visits, grocery shopping, and visits to public offices, thereby helping to eliminate transport blind spots. It supports the mobility of residents in transport-disadvantaged areas, while at the same time helping the taxi industry by supplementing demand during hours when passenger numbers tend to fall. In practice, taxi operations have increased during weekday daytime hours, when there is strong demand for daily trips such as hospital visits and shopping, creating opportunities for local taxis to expand their operations. Because the service is operated mainly through call-based requests, it also reduces the burden on drivers of having to wait aimlessly or drive around empty.

Number of users of Gyeonggi Province's 'on-demand welfare taxi'. Provided by Gyeonggi Province.

This year as well, Gyeonggi Province plans to invest a total of 10.316 billion won in this type of demand-responsive taxi program. By type, 1.548 billion won will go to Gyeonggi Welfare Taxis operated by the province and city/county governments, 7.8 billion won to public taxis operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and cities, and 968 million won to rural taxis operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and county governments.

Gyeonggi Province plans to review local operating conditions together with city and county governments and refine detailed operating methods such as service areas, operating hours, and eligibility criteria in a user-centered way.

Jeong Chan-woong, head of the Taxi Transport Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Based on surveys of usage patterns and satisfaction, as well as complaints and on-site feedback, we will improve operational shortcomings so that residents in transport-vulnerable areas can use the service more stably," adding, "In 2026, we will further strengthen region-specific operations to more closely guarantee residents' right to mobility."

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