Image: City of Busan ()
Taxi fares in Busan and Gyeongnam increased by 1,000 won from 3,800 won to 4,800 won from midnight on the 1st.
The distance rate is 132m per 100 won (previously 133m), and the time rate is adjusted to 33 seconds per 100 won (previously 34 seconds).
The late-night surcharge also changes. Previously, a surcharge was applied from 0:00 to 4:00, but now it increases by 1 hour from 11 p.m. to 4a.m. In the past, a 20% premium rate was applied all at once, but now a 30% premium rate is applied from midnight to 2 a.m. 20% is applied the rest of the time.
Gyeongnam also raised the basic taxi fare from 3,300 won to 4,000 won from the 10th. Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the same day that it delivered the basic rate of 4,000 won set by the Consumer Policy Committee in January to each city and county to apply from 4 am on the 10th.
However, it is expected that it will be implemented from July after going through related procedures, as it is necessary to set the rate by applying a complex surcharge to the increased basic rate in the county area. The late-night surcharge system for taxi fares will also be changed. The existing late-night surcharge was from midnight to 4 am, but it will be extended by 2 hours from 10 pm to 4 am the next day. However, the late-night surcharge rate remains at 20%.
Gyeongnam province decided to raise the basic taxi fare by 15.1% at the Consumer Policy Committee in January, but it has been coordinating the timing of the increase by joining the government’s policy of freezing public fares in the first half of the year. Then, Daegu and Ulsan decided to raise rates from last January and Busan from June. Gyeongnam’s taxi fare hike is the first in four years and two months since April 2019.
Despite the government’s stance of restraining public fare hikes, cities and provinces are in the position that a fare increase is inevitable as the taxi industry is in a serious deficit situation due to factors such as inflation. As a result, since the beginning of this year, each local government, led by Seoul City, has been raising taxi fares.
