ED Cab-catching war at night
Current chaos due largely to ban on car-sharing
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has worked out measures to help ease passengers' difficulty in catching a taxi at nighttime. City Hall will temporarily lift operating day restrictions on privately owned taxis to put 2,000 more cabs into nighttime service, increase late-night bus services and crack down on taxi drivers who refuse to pick up people as they look for more lucrative, longer-distance passengers. However, it is doubtful whether these steps will abate the struggle to catch cabs aggravated by surging demand after the government shifted to the “Living with COVID-19” strategy and the shortage of taxi drivers.
The ongoing taxi war has all but been anticipated. The biggest problem is the absolute shortage of taxi drivers. The number of cab drivers in the capital stood at 70,805 Aug. 31, down 13 percent from two years ago. On the other hand, the average daily cab use from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. has shot up 78 percent this month after the government eased its COVID-19 restrictions to restore daily life. As a result, taxi-catching battles are happening everywhere and every night in the city. It is common to wait for half an hour after calling a cab through an app. And “premium services” are selling like mad even though their rate is five times the normal fare.
What has caused this situation is the government's undue regulatory policy. Whenever innovative car-sharing services made their debut, the Moon Jae-in administration nipped them in the bud, citing opposition from the taxi industry. So the solution to the ongoing situation is already out ― the government should open the doors wide for new service providers. In the United States, taxi drivers can also offer Uber services, increasing their income. There is no reason the regulators should abandon the way in which both existing and new businesses can coexist.
Nor should this logic be limited to the taxi industry. Policymakers and politicians should work together to allow innovative new services, such as platforms for mediating legal counsel and medical advertising, to co-prosper with the existing players. Korea has no future if it continues to tighten regulations and stifle innovation.