Gyeonggi Province Expands Disabled Persons Call Taxi to 6 Daily Trips
Gyeonggi Province is expanding the daily usage of special transportation from the existing 4 trips to 6 trips. For wheelchair users in urgent situations, the province is also improving usage standards to allow post-registration after one trip without prior registration.
Gyeonggi Province announced on the 23rd that it will amend the 'Gyeonggi Province Special Transportation Wide-Area Mobility Service Standard Guidelines' containing these measures and implement them from September 1st.
Special transportation, commonly known as the 'disabled persons call taxi,' is a vehicle equipped with wheelchair boarding facilities and other amenities to support the mobility of transportation-disadvantaged persons.
The main amendments include expanding the daily usage of special transportation from the existing 4 trips to 6 trips. This measure is designed to more flexibly respond to diverse usage demands, not only for hospital visits but also for daily life and social activities.
A new procedure is being established for wheelchair users who need to use special transportation in emergency situations. If they can provide proof of disability, they can use special transportation once and then register afterward, even without prior registration. Reflecting improvement recommendations from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, this aims to reduce the inconvenience of being unable to travel due to prior registration procedures in urgent situations.
New operational grounds have been established to prioritize transportation-disadvantaged persons using wheelchairs. Currently, special transportation targets persons with severe mobility disabilities and temporary wheelchair users, and operates by dispatching vehicles to both wheelchair and non-wheelchair users. With this amendment, grounds have been established to operate with priority consideration for transportation-disadvantaged persons using wheelchairs, and specific operational methods will be reviewed considering vehicle operation conditions by city and county.
Dispatch guidance is also being strengthened. When a vehicle is dispatched, the driver will call the user to inform them of the dispatch and the estimated arrival time at the boarding location. This aims to reduce the inconvenience of users waiting without knowing about vehicle arrival and to facilitate smooth boarding.
Lee Kwan-haeng, director of the Wide-Area Transportation Policy Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Special transportation is an important transportation welfare service that enables transportation-disadvantaged persons, including wheelchair users, to engage in daily life and social participation beyond being a simple means of transportation," and added, "We will continue to improve the system from the users' perspective so that transportation-disadvantaged persons, including wheelchair users, can use special transportation more conveniently and safely."