Incheon will streamline entry procedures for special transportation vehicles, such as call taxis for the disabled, into apartment complexes.
The city signed a four-party memorandum of understanding on Monday with Incheon Transit Corporation, the Incheon chapter of the Korea Association of Housing Managers, and the Incheon branch of the National Federation of Apartment Residents' Representatives to enable automatic entry of special transportation vehicles into apartment complexes.
Under the current system, call taxis for the disabled must go through identity verification each time they enter a complex, just like any other outside vehicle. Passengers with mobility difficulties, including wheelchair users, have repeatedly been left waiting outside the vehicles for extended periods.
The core of the agreement is the pre-registration of vehicle numbers. Incheon will provide license plate information for special transportation vehicles, and the housing managers association will enter the data into each complex's parking system. Registered vehicles will pass through gates without any additional procedures.
The system will be applied as early as next month, subject to consent from the residents of each complex.
"Shorter wait times will significantly improve mobility convenience for the transportation-vulnerable," said Jang Cheol-bae, director-general of Incheon's transportation bureau. "We will continue to expand safe and convenient services."
Incheon operates 276 special transportation vehicles around the clock. New users can register through the Incheon Mobility Support Center for the Transportation-Vulnerable.
