À̹ÌÁö È®´ë KST Mobility"s Macaron taxi
South Korean mobility startups have set out to fill the gap left by industry leader Tada, which axed its ride-hailing business after parliament passed a law to limit commercial rides on rental vans.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday that six mobility platforms – CubeCar, Coactus, KST Mobility, Kakao Mobility, Kornatus and Locar – had signed up for regulatory sandbox to accelerate their service launches.
Under the regulatory sandbox framework, companies are temporarily exempt from existing regulations and allowed to test their new products or services in a controlled environment.
Last month, the National Assembly passed a revised passenger transport service act that significantly curtailed Tada¡¯s existing van-hailing service, forcing its chief to exit the business.
In Korea, ride-hailing services can only be offered by licensed taxis. Tada circumvented this rule by renting out chauffeur-driven vans to run its ride-hailing services. The new law required rental vans to be used for tour purposes only and for at least six hours, with their pickup and dropoff spots restricted to airports or seaports.
The transport ministry had previously said it would continue supporting the launch of other platforms through regulatory sandbox before the revised law comes into effect in April 2021.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Kakao T
CubeCar and Coactus, which run on reservation platforms, have set out to address problems of taxis refusing or selecting passengers. If their applications are approved, they plan to launch their new services in late May or early June, with a fleet of 300 cars for CubeCar and 100 cars for Cactus. They aim to transition to a transportation platform business next year once the revised law becomes effective.
KST Mobility and Kakao Mobility have outlined plans to improve their taxi-based platforms. These include allowing shifts at sites other than fleet garages, temporarily letting drivers take rides before they obtain their licenses and introducing flexible rating systems for reserved taxis. KST Mobility plans to expand its fleet of Macaron taxis to 5,000 by May and 20,000 by the year-end. Kakao Mobility is aiming to run 10,000 Kakao T Blue cabs by the end of the year.
Kornatus, which launched a late-night taxi-sharing service last July, aims to draw 1 million passengers by the year-end by expanding its services across Seoul and stretching its operating hours to 10 p.m.-10 a.m. from 10 p.m.-4 a.m.
By Kim Tae-joon and Kim Hyo-jin
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]