Hongdae, Gangnam most notorious for taxis ignoring people
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Two women try to catch a taxi in Seoul. Getting a taxi on Friday and Saturday nights is tough and Hongdae and Gangnam are among the most difficult areas, according to city data. /Korea Times file
By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo
You may have experienced drivers of unoccupied taxis ignoring your hailing late at night. Such annoying refusals are more frequent Fridays and Saturdays.
If you want to ease these frustrations, there are locations you should avoid.
Districts around Hongik University, broadly called Hongdae, are among the most difficult in Seoul to get a taxi at night, according to city data. Rep. An Ho-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea revealed the information on Wednesday. The city received 2,581 complaints of unoccupied taxis passing hailing people in the area between 2013 and August 2017.
Gangnam was next with 1,647 complaints. Then followed Jongno (1133), Yeouido (817), Sinchon (798), Itaewon (699), Konkuk University Station (611), Dongdaemun (530), Yeoksam (395) and Yeongdeongpo Station (281).
“Hongdae and Gangnam have a very serious case of taxi passenger refusals,” An said. “A strong crackdown is needed in these areas.”
Meanwhile, total complaints over taxis ignoring hailing passengers continue to decline. In 2013, there were 3,590 cases (9.8 a day). They fell to 2,302 in 2014, 1,722 in 2015 and 1,095 in 2016.
Ah said the decline can be attributed to measures Seoul has adopted to tackle the problem.
Taxi drivers who refuse passengers can be fined 200,000 won ($180) for the first offense and 400,000 won, with a 30-day license suspension, for a second. Drivers can lose their taxi license and be fined 600,000 won if caught three times in two years.
Taxi companies can lose their business license if drivers repeatedly reject customers.
Drivers who refuse to take passengers can be reported by calling 120 and pressing 9 for the foreign language service. Languages available are English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Mongolian.