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As it became difficult to catch a taxi at night, from yesterday (the 1st), the late-night surcharge for Seoul taxi fares was moved forward from 10 p.m., and the surcharge rate rose up to 40%.
Then, the number of taxis running increased, and reporter Yu Deok-gi covered how the passengers reacted on the first day.
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Near midnight, there is a long line of taxis with their 'empty' lights on around Gangnam Station.
It is usually a difficult time to catch a taxi, but I boarded right away without waiting.
On the first day of the late-night surcharge, the basic surcharge of 20% starts 2 hours earlier, from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. the next day.
The basic fare for a medium-sized taxi, which is 3,800 won, jumps to a maximum of 5,300 won.
A support plan has also begun to pay up to 15,000 won to drivers who pick up passengers without refusal to board.
11 locations, including Gangnam and Hongdae areas in Seoul, are held only every Thursday and Friday for the month of December.
With the expansion of late-night surcharges and temporary support measures, the number of taxis running overnight yesterday increased by about 19% from the previous day.
There are many private taxis that were reluctant to operate at night.
[Cha Soon-seon/Chief of Seoul Private Taxi Association: I think that the difficult part of taking a taxi will be resolved because our members know that their income is going up considerably.]
The city of Seoul also expects that the number of taxis operating at night will increase from 20,000 to 7,000.
However, the skyrocketing fee is a burden.
[Yoon Seok-hwa/Late-night taxi passenger: I think it may be a little burdensome for passengers.
The amount (with a surcharge) is too scary.]
From February next year, when the basic fare for medium-sized taxis rises to 4,800 won, the burden of fares is expected to increase, so there are concerns about a decrease in passengers in the taxi industry.
(Video coverage: Oh Young-chun · Lee Chan-soo, video editing: Jeon Min-gyu, CG: Ban So-hee)