After reading the article “Reward for tips of swindling cabbies” on Feb. 8, I was motivated to respond. These knee-jerk, ineffective, and unsustainable policies continue to emerge from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, leaving everyone to wonder why. Issuing rewards isn’t going to solve the problem, nor will the funds last.
Rather than creating these fly-by-night schemes, why don’t they look at what other countries have done to effectively deal with these problems and set some benchmarks? As it stands, they are merely throwing money at the problem without any concrete plan to address the underlying issue and effectively create an environment where these problems are significantly reduced.
For example, if Seoul City were to require all taxi drivers to prominently place their credentials and identification in the backseat area of the car along with a corresponding QR code, passengers would be able to more easily record and expose these unscrupulous drivers. Furthermore, if Seoul City were to implement a three-strikes law, which would effectively revoke the taxi permit/license of the drivers who had three offenses, they would be able to weed out these corrupt drivers and reduce the oversupply of taxis at the same time.
As many countries have shown, it would even be more effective to combine a “carrot and stick” policy where drivers could also be acknowledged for providing exceptional service along with punishing those dishonest drivers.
As a resident of Seoul, observing Seoul Metropolitan officials who continue to refuse to pragmatically and judiciously implement effective and efficient policies is both frustrating and upsetting. If they didn’t have access to these best practices or lacked the resources, one might be more forgiving and understanding. However, they have unlimited access and ample resources to intelligently solve this issue.
The real question is: why don’t they?
Steve Austin
Concerned resident of Seoul