Abstract

Taxi drivers in Korea are known to work long hours and receive low wages. In addition, there are various forms of working, so that they can work 12 hours a day for 2 shifts, work only at night or day time, and drive a car whole day alone (14–15 hours a day). We surveyed their specific hours of work, and smoking and caffeine consumption. In this study, 11 business sites were selected for taxi companies in Seoul considering region and workplace size, and survey was conducted for all taxi drivers belonging to the relevant business sites. The questionnaire consisted of demographic characteristics, working hours and working conditions, violence experience, emotional labor status, physical and mental health status, sleep health, traffic accidents and traffic violation experience. A total of 698 respondents (39.6%) answered the questionnaire. 76.2% were working 25–26 days a month. 49.2% of the workers worked more than 60 hours per week and less than 70 hours per week. 52.8% of drivers were current smokers, and 65.9% of those who work fixed night shift were current smokers. The rate of taking caffeinated beverages was 90.4%, of which 75.5% were taking six or more cups a day. In the form of working for 14–15 hours a day alone and working in fixed night shift, more than 6 cups were consumed.

Taxi drivers are forced to work long hours on their own due to their low wage structure, and the frequency of smoking and caffeine ingestion is very high in order to maintain long working hours. In order to improve this situation, the introduction of the monthly salary system and regulation of working time should be applied.