Seoul cracks down on taxis overcharging foreign tourists
The Seoul municipal government announced Wednesday it would launch a 100-day special crackdown on cab drivers' unfair treatment of overseas tourists.
The initiative will focus on illegal taxi activities such as overcharging, demanding tips, refusing to pick passengers up for short rides, and other inconveniences experienced by many overseas tourists when hailing taxis here.
The crackdown will take place in airports as well as tourist attractions in Seoul, such as the Myeong-dong shopping district.
In the capital's downtown, Seoul Metropolitan Government civil servants will penalize taxis that refuse to take overseas tourists on short trips; taxis that wait for foreign customers to demand prices above standard rates; and taxis that overcharge tourists at night.
The 100-day crackdown is designed to "rectify illegal taxi activities ahead of the peak tourism season in South Korea," according to Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the transportation office of the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The initiative will be in line with efforts by Seoul this year to bust 139 cases of overcharging at airports near Seoul, and 109 cases of taxi drivers refusing to accept foreign national passengers for short rides, as of the end of June. The regular crackdown has taken place since 2015.
According to Seoul, visitors to Korea can also report taxi-related issues via card-sized survey slips available at Incheon Airport and Gimpo Airport. The card links users to a survey via QR code, which can be used to report violations. This service is available in English, Chinese and Japanese.
In Seoul, a base fare for a single standard taxi ride up to 1.6 kilometers is 4,800 won ($3.46). An additional 100 won is charged for every 131 meters of travel. The base fare for cabs at night ranges from 5,800 won to 6,700 won, depending on the time of the ride.
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