Revival of Service Fees for Disabled Call Taxi Volunteers! ... Improvement of Services for Disabled Users and Enhancement of Transportation Convenience

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City announced that starting January 1, 2023, it will resume paying call service fees for the operation of customized transportation for non-wheelchair disabled persons, the Disabled Call Taxi (Self-pay Call).

The call service fee for the Disabled Call Taxi (Self-pay Call) is an incentive-type fee paid to drivers per call, as transporting disabled passengers requires more time and service compared to general passengers.

Busan City began operating the Disabled Call Taxi in August 2012 and paid 1,500 KRW per call as a call service fee. However, due to budget shortages caused by increased demand, the fee was reduced to 1,000 KRW per call in June 2019, then to 800 KRW per call in January 2020, and was completely abolished in March 2021.

After the abolition of the call service fee, the overall taxi demand was low due to the impact of COVID-19, so no major problems occurred. However, as demand increased with the return to normal life, issues such as drivers preferring general passengers over disabled passengers and driver unfriendliness arose, causing significant inconvenience for many disabled persons using the Disabled Call Taxi.

In response, many disabled persons, led by disability organizations, continuously requested the reinstatement of the call service fee. Consequently, through the interest and efforts of Busan City and members of the Busan City Council, a budget of 420 million KRW was secured to pay the call service fee (500 KRW per call) again starting January.

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, stated, “Although the amount is small, we expect that the reinstatement of the call service fee will greatly help improve transportation convenience by increasing call success rates, improving service quality, reducing waiting times for disabled persons, and enhancing service satisfaction.” He added, “We will continue to strive to provide better services for the Disabled Call Taxi.”