Hwaseong to Expand "Happy Taxi" Service to 22 More Transportation-Vulnerable Villages Starting in March

Available at Public Transit Fare Levels

On January 9, the city of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province announced that it will expand the operation of its “Happy Taxi” service from 154 villages to 176 villages starting in March, in order to guarantee mobility rights for residents in areas with limited access to public transportation.

The “Happy Taxi” is a taxi service that allows residents of rural and transportation-vulnerable areas, where buses and other public transportation are difficult to use, to travel at fares similar to those of public transit.

Depending on the circumstances of each town, the Happy Taxi operates as either a “fixed-route” or “on-demand” service. The fixed-route taxis run on set schedules along designated routes connecting villages to key hubs such as town centers. The on-demand taxis can be called by users as needed to travel to locations such as the town center.

The newly added villages for the service are: 11 in Ujeong-eup, 2 in Namyang-eup, 1 in Songsan-myeon, 1 in Paltan-myeon, 6 in Jangan-myeon, and 1 in Bongdam-eup.

The city selects eligible villages based on the following criteria: villages where buses do not operate, villages where the interval between buses is two hours or more, and villages where the distance from the village center (such as the community center) to the nearest bus stop is at least 400 meters and buses run five times or fewer per day.

Previously, the city expanded the Happy Taxi service area from 114 villages in 2024 to 154 villages last year. The routes for fixed-route Happy Taxis can be checked at each town office and community center, while on-demand taxis can be accessed by contacting the local taxi call centers.

The city plans to complete the recruitment of transportation operators by next month and begin operating the Happy Taxi service in the newly added villages starting in March.

Jung Myung-geun, Mayor of Hwaseong, stated, “Although there is a shortage of taxis due to the taxi quota system, we will fulfill our public responsibility to guarantee residents’ mobility rights.”