Gyeonggi Province Has Only 1 Disabled-Accessible Taxi per 12,000 People

Gyeonggi Province's dedicated taxi service for people with severe disabilities, introduced to improve their transportation access, has been found to have a critically insufficient number of vehicles compared to the number of users.

According to the province on the 25th, the disabled-accessible call taxi service, which has been operating since 2001 with modified small buses and other vehicles, currently has only 30 vehicles across six cities: 6 in Suwon, 3 in Siheung, 10 in Seongnam, 8 in Bucheon, 1 in Hwaseong, and 2 in Yangju.

With 360,000 registered people with disabilities in Gyeonggi Province, this means one disabled-accessible taxi serves 12,000 people.

In comparison, Seoul has 120 vehicles for 310,000 registered people with disabilities, or one taxi per 2,583 people, while Incheon has 20 vehicles for 100,000 people with disabilities, or one taxi per 5,000 people.

Additionally, Gyeonggi Province's disabled-accessible taxi service not only charges higher fares than Seoul and Incheon but also has the shortest operating hours, causing significant inconvenience to users.

The basic fare for the province's disabled-accessible taxi is an average of 1,000 won per 2 kilometers, the distance charge is an average of 239 meters per 100 won, and the time charge is an average of 54 seconds per 100 won, which is about 50 percent of regular taxi fares.

In contrast, Incheon charges a basic fare of 760 won per 2 kilometers, and Seoul charges 1,600 won per 5 kilometers, which amounts to about 40 percent of regular taxi fares, lower than Gyeonggi Province.

Operating hours also differ: Gyeonggi Province operates from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. for 14 hours, while Incheon operates from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. for 16 hours, and Seoul operates from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for 15 hours.

Furthermore, the disabled-accessible taxi service is restricted to operation only in those six cities, making it unavailable to people with disabilities in adjacent cities and counties, compounding the inconvenience.

Kim Byung-tae, representative of the Gyeonggi Association of the Disabled, pointed out that "Seoul has enacted an ordinance related to special transportation services and operates disabled taxis directly through the city, while Gyeonggi Province lacks even a related ordinance."

In response, a provincial official stated, "We plan to analyze the operational performance over the next year and carefully review the expansion and operation of disabled taxis."