taxis

taking taxis is common here... well, it really feels common in comparison to daygo, back home you only see taxis in the gaslamp

area on weekend nights.

<--deluxe taxi South Korea has three types of taxis. ordinary, deluxe, and taxis for differently-abled.

the “ordinary” taxis are yellow or green or white, the cap on top will vary in color as well. i think a blue cap means that the cab is company owned, and the white cap taxis are privately owned. i havent noticed a difference in service/price in either. the meter starts at 1,900 won during day time, and 2,500 after midnight, i think.

if you live outside of seoul, you'll see some taxis that are "seoul taxis" which mean they go to seoul only, so dont flag one down if youre only going down the street, b/c then the driver will slow down, yell "Seoul!" at you, and then drive away making you feel stupid.

a “model/deluxe” taxi is black with a yellow cap and bigger and much more expensive, you'll find them en mass by airports and hotels, and these drivers usually speak pretty good english. they always start at 4 bucks or something, day or night, plus deluxe are more willing to help you load luggage and such. regular drivers will probably just watch you struggling while they sittin in the front, peeking at you from the rear view mirror.

there is a red light in the front window that says something in korean, anyway if the light is red, it means the cab is available. hold your hand out, most seem slightly stick out an arm w/hand pointing downward, indicating for the driver to stop there, to hail a taxi.

simpliest way to grab them is to stand at a major street or in front of whatever large facility is in the area. if you see a line of taxis, you must take the front taxi in line as they're waiting in order, unless you want to take a deluxe taxi. avoid bus stops/police stations, taxis are technically not allowed to stop in front of them.

try to stand on the side of the street of the direction youre going. of course the driver can do a u-turn, but some may not stop or ask you to get out of the cab, so it's best to avoid it and stand on the proper street side. when you get in the taxi, get in the back and enter/exit on the right side. the left driver side passenger door is usually locked as a safety precaution. the meter may "jump" when youre in traffic; this is b/c the meter has switched to "charge per min" mode. it's an additional 100 won or so (10 cents) every 50 sec.

there are "call/reserve" taxis, available 24 hours. they're the same taxis on the streets, but they're affiliated w/a call center. the fee is 1,000 won. you can also reserve them for long distance rides. ive never used them, b/c i cant speak korean.

internet taxi reservations accept credit cards, but you have to reserve 4 hrs in advance. you can use them at 'rent a car" type thing where you have the driver drop you somewhere, wait, and bring you back; they provide 4/8 hour srvs based on meter... ive never used them. http://krtaxi.com/

sometimes cabs wont stop for you. dont take it personal. it could be b/c they're on their way to a fare already, or maybe they're not going in that particular direction, maybe their shift is over and they're going bk to dispatch or home, maybe they're a seoul taxi or only serve a specific geographic area. or maybe b/c youre a foreigner... you'll never know, so dont sweat it.

press 021330 on your cell phone for 24 hour free translation services.