Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Derrek]

[yupkime]

Derrick is spot on.

With a little common sense and some aggressiveness, driving a scooter has never been a problem for me either. Always wear bright clothes and shoulder check.

The drivers are generally much more aware of their surroundings (at least compared to BC where people drive like dazed morons) and as long as you don't do anything silly you should be alright.

One caveat would be driving in the rain, especially after a long spell of dry weather as all the oil and fluids that leak out during the dry week mix with the water and creates some slippery spots.

But in the end it is worth it. Saving money and time is always a plus.
Good luck and be careful!!

[JongnoGuru]

[dg611]

I don't understand all the hullabaloo over the rise in taxi prices...You should try driving a car!! then you'll feel the pinch....diesel prices have risen more than 200% since 2000. Besides, the taxi fares in Korea are unnaturally low to begin with...the only reason they can keep it so low is because the taxis all run on LPG which is less half of the regular gas prices. Solution: take the bus, take the subway, buy a scooter (still gotta buy gas), buy a bike, hitchhike (it can be done), or walk.
Think about how much the ride would cost you back home. Maybe that will ease the pain of the measly increase.

Cheers

[Homer]

[plattwaz]

OMG. I guess this explains why my taxi last night charged me more than what the meter said. I had a little fit at him and was acting a bit of a baby over it - the fare was 3500 and he only have me back 700 from a 5000 note.

But shouldn't there be something POSTED IN THE CAB that says fares went up? Or perhaps change the meters to correctly reflect the new prices???? Or do we just have to accept the driver's word that a 3500 won ride now costs 4300????

[Homer]

platt...the change should appear on the meter as it will start at a higher base fee. It will also probably go up faster then before.

[dogbert]

[plattwaz]

Hmm. So basically, whatever the meter reads, the driver can choose or choose not to charge you 20% more than the fare displayed? Am I understanding that correctly? Cause that seems pretty mucked up....

I dunno, like I said, my driver just argued with me and refused to give me the correct change from what I gave him versus the meter display.

(Mind you, I also still assume he was a #$%&&%#@ cabbie...he got in TWO fights with other drivers, one time we actually stopped and a man driving a truck got out and they started a screaming match on the road, because my cabbie thought the guy tried to cut him off. The other "fight" was actually just a childish game of "you cut in front of me so I'll cut in front of you" - but it got out of control and I thought I was about to be roadkill).

So needless to say I was FURIOUS having to pay him a penny more than what the meter said.

But I still can't believe that whoever regulates taxi fares would just allow fares to go up without fixing the meters? Like, for first time tourist here, THAT's a great way to give ppl a good opinion of the country....

[Gord]

[Flossie]

There are 500,000 cabbies in Korea. Anyone know how many are in Seoul? That changeover could take a couple more days than they expected methinks.

[mack the knife]

Good lord! If there's one thing I CAN'T complain about in Korea, it's the cheap, [relatively] clean, speedy, [generally] friendly taxis! Get a f**king clue, mayte!

[paperbag princess]

my point is that a 20% raise is alot, especially when you compare that to how much other people make, (i.e people who work for pizza hut, b.k, mcd's make something like 3,000/hour).

why don't we get a 20% raise to compensate for rising gas prices? oh, wait, we don't count, that's why. it's not like we contribute heavily to the korean economy or anything like that.

[Gord]

[Wangja]