Seoul's expanded late-night taxi and bus services during the year-end holiday season have nearly eliminated the shortage of available taxis, the city government said Tuesday.
Seoul implements measures each year to increase late-night taxi and bus supply between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. to meet rising demand during the holiday period. This month, the city deployed 24,500 taxis, an increase of 1,000 from the previous month. City buses extended operating hours until 1 a.m. to align with subway closing times, while owl bus services increased their frequency.
Taxi usage declined slightly compared to last year, indicating a more relaxed supply situation. During late-night hours on Thursdays and Fridays in the first three weeks of December, 24,086 taxis were in operation, up about 300 from 23,773 during the same period last year. However, the number of taxi rides fell slightly to 46,932 from 47,320 a year earlier, a decrease of 388 trips.
Bus ridership increased notably. The city operated 2,099 additional late-night buses, including extended last-run services and owl buses, serving 128,767 passengers. This represents a 9.1 percent increase from 118,003 passengers during the same period last year.
"Due to the economic slowdown and the spread of early-return culture, late-night taxi shortages have nearly disappeared since 2023," a Seoul city official said. "Instead, ridership on owl buses, which offer relatively lower fares, appears to have increased."
However, officials noted a data gap in policy planning. While most taxi calls are made through ride-hailing platforms, these companies do not provide data on dispatch success rates by time and location. Seoul has requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to establish legal grounds under the Passenger Transport Service Act to require platforms to share such data.
"We will ensure smooth implementation of late-night transport expansion measures through the end of the year," said Yeo Jang-kwon, director of Seoul's Transportation Office. "Based on accumulated operational data, we will provide smarter and more comprehensive late-night transportation services next year."
