Data released by the city government on Sunday revealed that 9,115 complaints related to taxi drivers had been filed between January and June, with unfriendly taxi drivers being the most prevalent issue, accounting for over 30 percent. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul taxi drivers still have an attitude issue, according to the sheer number of complaints filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Government so far this year.
Data released by the city government on Sunday revealed that 9,115 complaints related to taxi drivers had been filed between January and June, with unfriendly taxi drivers being the most prevalent issue, accounting for over 30 percent.
Refusal of passengers was the second most common complaint, followed by overcharging, with 2,444 and 1,787 cases, respectively. Others filed complaints over ‘being forcefully dropped out of a taxi mid-journey’ and ‘operating outside a permitted area’.
Though it’s worth nothing that that the number of complaints has fallen 7 percent compared to the same period last year, and nearly 34 percent compared to 2014, this year’s data continues to follow the same pattern last year when being ‘unfriendly’ and ‘refusal of passengers’ were the top two complaints.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said, “As citizens still feel inconvenienced despite a fall in the number of complaints, we will attempt to more systematically and comprehensively respond to complaints.
“By 2018, we plan to slash the number of complaints to 14,000, half of the approximate 2014 figure of 28,000.”
The Seoul government is currently implementing an anti-unfriendly taxi measure which allows passengers to contact taxi companies to be compensated for the unfriendly driver they encountered after investigating the situation, with the amount of refund based on each company’s own standard.
Of all 254 taxi companies in Seoul, over 230 are participating in the city’s initiative.
Since 2015, when the measure was first introduced, more than 11 million won has been paid back to customers.
In the meantime, Seoul government officials are continuing their efforts to tackle the issue of unfriendly taxi drivers, through crackdowns in areas where previous complaints were filed frequently, with plans to cut financial support to cover credit card commission fees for drivers who receive regular complaints.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
