Gurye-gun Launches 100-Won Taxi Service for 55 Transportation-Disadvantaged Villages

[Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yuk Miseok] Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 22nd that it will implement a 100-won taxi operation project targeting 55 villages in the area to provide transportation convenience and guarantee mobility rights for residents of villages isolated from public transportation.

The 100-won taxi is a demand-responsive taxi operated according to the needs of village residents to provide at least minimal mobility rights to residents of villages with poor transportation accessibility. Residents pay 100 won to use the taxi to the eup/myeon (township) center, and the county subsidizes the difference.

The county started this project in 2016 targeting 18 villages where the distance from the village hall to the bus stop was more than 1 km. In 2019, it expanded to 42 villages with a distance of more than 0.5 km, and in 2020, it further expanded to 55 villages with a distance of more than 0.3 km.

As the number of target villages expanded, the number of users increased from an average of 681 people per month in 2016 to 3,130 in 2020. Accordingly, the related budget also increased significantly from about 60 million won in 2016 to about 300 million won in 2020.

In 2021, the county plans to change the distribution of usage tickets from the current population-based sections to a one-ticket-per-person basis according to the actual resident population to improve fairness in ticket distribution among villages. They will also continue to guide village chiefs' meetings so that various transportation-vulnerable groups such as basic livelihood security recipients, disabled persons, and those without vehicles can receive tickets first.

County Governor Kim Sun-ho said, “Gurye-gun has steadily promoted projects to expand the transportation living area for vulnerable groups by operating 100-won taxis in remote villages in 2016, introducing special transportation means for the disabled and other vulnerable groups in 2017, and implementing a single fare system (1,000 won bus) for rural buses in 2020 to improve universal transportation welfare.” He added, “We will continue to supplement system deficiencies and develop and implement various transportation policies to improve residents' quality of life.”