Bus, taxi operators on collision course

Lawmakers’ move to allow taxi drivers to drive in bus-only lanes, coming just a month before the Dec. 19 presidential election, is drawing fierce protests from bus operators.

Bus operators said they will stage a strike if the plan becomes the law, while taxi firms are calling for the legislation, saying they also need the same financial support from the authorities that bus and subway companies enjoy.

The Korean Automobile and Transport Workers’ Federation and an association of bus companies issued a joint statement to say the move was a populist idea to woo votes.

Their reaction came a day after members of the National Assembly Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee unanimously passed the revision bill to recognize taxis as public transport — an idea that was one of President Lee Myung-bak’s campaign pledges in the 2007 presidential election.

The categorization of taxies as public transport will set the legal ground for taxis to run in bus-only lanes. Taxi operators will also be eligible for government subsidies.

“As those in the taxi industry said they would vote for a presidential candidate who would give consent to the revision, both ruling and opposition parties accepted it ahead of the presidential election,” said the two groups representing bus operators.

They said instead of the revision, the Assembly should set up a separate law to improve cabbies’ working conditions.

“We agree that taxi drivers have poor working conditions that should be improved. But even if taxis are categorized as public transportation, the subsidies will only benefit a small number of taxi companies, not the cabbies,” the groups said. “They need more fundamental measures, such as fare rises.”

Taxi firms have called for the idea for a decade, saying their financial difficulties are getting worse due to rising fuel costs although they have played as important a role in transporting the public as buses and subway trains.

Welcoming the Assembly’s move, taxi companies delayed a massive rally they planned to hold on Nov. 20.

“We’ve demanded the revision as a means to counter financial difficulties and improve passenger services,” a member of the national taxi drivers’ union said.

Noting that a majority of taxis are operated by individual drivers not belonging to companies, bus operators are claiming that it is unreasonable to support individually-run taxis with taxpayers’ money.

Bus companies currently receive about 1 trillion won in annual subsidies from the central and local governments, and they worry they may have to share the money with taxis if the law is revised.

“Taxis running in bus-only lanes will slow down buses and people will not want to take them,” a director of the association said.

The association said their representatives will meet on Tuesday and discuss a strike. The bill is scheduled to be submitted to the Assembly’s plenary session Friday.

Not only bus operators but also the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is opposed to the legislation.

“To the taxi industry, we are already giving benefits worth 760 billion won annually for fuel expenses and taxes. The revision will force the central and local governments to pay an additional hundreds of billions of won in subsidies, worsening their finances,” a ministry official said.

There are some 255,200 taxis across the nation — about 91,500 run by 1,721 companies and 163,700 by individuals. <The Korea Times/Kim Rahn>