PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — A one-stop cab ride inside sprawling Camp Humphreys soon will cost no more than $4.
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service has negotiated a price cap on all rides within the installation, George B. Ricker, AAFES general manager at Camp Humphreys, said Tuesday. The fare cap does not include trips off the installation, officials said.
The deal was reached with Haekang Co. Ind. Ltd., and Ricker said he would notify the company Wednesday “that everything is a go.”
Haekang must install a special software chip in its taxi meters before the new fare structure takes effect, Ricker said.
The new deal will bring several other changes to the fare structure for on-post trips, officials said.
Currently, the initial fare is $2.30. After the taxi has traveled 1,609 meters, the fare rises 30 cents, and it increases 30 cents thereafter for each additional 365 meters traveled or 90 seconds elapsed.
Under the new arrangement, the initial fare will be $2.50. After the taxi travels 1,750 meters, the fare increases 25 cents; it then increases 25 cents for each additional 250 meters traveled or 60 seconds elapsed.
“It’s something that soldiers have been asking for for a long time,” Ricker said. “On Humphreys, because of the way the base is laid out with a runway in the middle of it … it’s a pretty far distance” that taxis must often traverse.
He said average fares on Humphreys are higher than at bases such as Yongsan Garrison and Osan Air Base.
Soldiers at Camp Humphreys welcomed the news Tuesday, said Spc. September Taylor, president of Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers, or BOSS, at Camp Humphreys.
“Everybody was very excited about the $4 cap,” said Taylor, of Company A, 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion. “They feel it will save them a lot of money going around base. For example, as it stands right now, to go from, say, MP Hill to the front gate, is $5.”
Before closing the deal with Haekang, Ricker met last week with soldiers in the BOSS program and spelled out the prospective terms, asking them to spread the word among soldiers and later tell him whether the troops felt the cap would be helpful.
“Last week, we sent everyone else to talk to their units, so we could vote on it this week,” Taylor said. The vote was strongly in favor of asking Ricker to close the deal.
The BOSS representatives reported the outcome Tuesday to AAFES, he said.
“Of course, we’re for it,” Taylor said. “We’re excited about it.”
