Gwangju's subsidized "public taxi" service, widely known as the "1,000-won taxi," will expand to all five of the city's autonomous districts next year.
Residents in areas poorly served by public buses — including villages far from the nearest bus stop — pay only 1,000 won per ride, with the central government, the city of Gwangju and each district covering the remaining fare.
The total project budget for next year is set at 1.3 billion won ($957,000). Each district will designate its own service zones.
Of that amount, 910 million won, or 70 percent, will come from the national government, with the city and the districts each contributing 195 million won.
The program is designed to guarantee mobility for residents in transportation-underserved areas that regular bus routes cannot reach or where bus stops are too far away.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also supports public buses and taxis in transit blind spots through its urban transportation model project.
Currently, only Dong-gu and Gwangsan-gu operate similar taxi subsidy programs, funded entirely from their own budgets.
This year's combined project budget across those districts stands at 350 million won, borne entirely by the districts themselves. Next year, with new national funding coming in, the budget will grow roughly 3.7 times to 1.3 billion won.
Until now, the central government's public taxi support had focused on smaller cities and counties, in effect excluding metropolitan cities from national funding. Starting next year, the program's scope expands to cover metropolitan areas, allowing Gwangju to secure national funding for the first time.
In response, the city of Gwangju recently held a meeting with officials from all five districts to prepare for the expansion.
All five districts — including Seo-gu, Nam-gu and Buk-gu, which are joining the program for the first time — are set to begin drafting the local ordinances needed to operate the service and establishing detailed criteria covering eligible users and service areas.
Because each district must complete preliminary steps including ordinance enactment, budget allocation and service zone selection, the specific launch date in each district will be determined once those administrative procedures are finalized.
The gap between the subsidized fare and the standard taxi fare will be covered by national and local government funds. The program mirrors the structure of the "100-won taxi" familiar in South Jeolla Province, though the passenger's share differs.
Program names also vary by district depending on local ordinances and operating arrangements; the service is officially classified as a "public taxi."
The public taxi program will continue next year across all 22 cities and counties in South Jeolla Province as well.
sij@heraldcorp.com
