South Korea’s ride-sharing service Buxi will expand into logistics on the back of a major investment from local logistics firm Cariskukbo.

Cariskukbo has agreed to take up a 37.55 percent stake in Buxi, with plans to further bump up its investment to bolster its mobility and logistics businesses, Buxi announced Friday.

Buxi started operations in 2016 as a pickup service that offers rides to and from airports in 11-15 seating rental vans. Unlike the rental van-hailing service Tada, Buxi’s routes are mostly limited to airports, providing services to major airports in the country including Incheon, Gimpo and Cheongju.

Experts say Buxi would be unaffected from the recent government push to mark Tada as an illegal taxi service. Tada chiefs were indicted earlier this week on charges of illegally running a transportation business as a van rental service, in the latest blow to the country’s fledgling ride-sharing sector. A law is also pending in the National Assembly that aims to outright ban Tada operations.

Buxi said it plans to combine its mobility technology and Cariskukbo’s 66 years of logistics knowhow in cargo container and railway transport to drive innovation in supply chain logistics.

Cariskukbo plans to leverage Buxi’s technology to develop an algorithm system that calculates the fastest route based on real-time traffic data. It is also considering introducing an optimum dispatch system connecting vehicles to drivers depending on the shipment load and delivery location.

The two companies in January will test run a new standardized fare system for container trucks and cement trucks, which they hope would help boost operational efficiency by saving time and costs. They also revealed ambitions to invest in big data and artificial intelligence to seize leadership in the mobility-as-a-service market.

By Hong Sung-yong and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]