{"id":2197736,"date":"2022-07-26T18:55:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T09:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2197736"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:07","slug":"how-ride-sharing-services-like-uber-could-end-seouls-dire-taxi-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/how-ride-sharing-services-like-uber-could-end-seouls-dire-taxi-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"How ride-sharing services like Uber could end Seoul\u2019s dire taxi shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"
In recent weeks, signs urging people not to \u201cdrink and cycle\u201d have been popping up around Seoul. The reason why will be apparent to anyone who visits the capital\u2019s busiest districts on a Friday night, or even a weekday evening.<\/span><\/p>\n Seoul is suffering from a dramatic shortage of taxis, a problem that has become so acute in recent weeks that the transport ministry says that three in four people are unable to get a cab late at night.<\/span><\/p>\n With buses and subway lines closed after midnight, failing to catch a ride will frequently leave one stranded with no choice but to <\/span>rent out<\/span><\/a> public bikes or electric scooters, or else trudge home on foot.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI either try to find a night bus, or I walk to another area and try to hail a cab from there. Often finding a cab can take two hours or more,\u201d said Matthew Ashley, a Swiss journalist living in Seoul. \u201cI\u2019ve had to take an e-scooter before because there were no other options.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Demand for cabs fell dramatically over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading many cab drivers to switch to new professions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But then demand rebounded almost instantly after the government mostly lifted virus prevention measures in April. Ride calls on the country\u2019s most-used taxi-hailing app KakaoT <\/span>surged 333%<\/span><\/a> in the week following the rollback compared to the same period in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that cab drivers <\/span>aren\u2019t getting back behind the wheel<\/span><\/a> due in part to low pay. And some experts say the only way out of the predicament is for South Korea to finally embrace new ride-sharing services like Uber that it has so far banned or curtailed.<\/span><\/p>\n