Tada becomes popular amid Kakao-taxi disputes

Tada ride-hailing service operated by mobility startup VCNC

By Jun Ji-hye

A ride-hailing service called Tada, operated by mobility startup VCNC, is gaining popularity through word of mouth, while Kakao has faced a setback in its attempt to launch a ride-sharing service due to strong protests from taxi drivers.

The popularity of Tada is notable, considering it is 10 percent to 20 percent more expensive than taxies.

According to VCNC, a subsidiary of car-sharing service SoCar, the Tada app has reached 200,000 downloads two months after its launch in October. The startup noted 80 percent of users have become repeat customers.

The company has not carried out special marketing activities, apparently wary of possible disputes with the taxi industry, but the service has generated strong word of mouth through users’ Instagram accounts and blogs, which highlight that Tada drivers offer attentive service and do not refuse passengers.

When a user enters a destination in the mobile app, an 11-seat van arrives for them.

Drivers do not know the destinations of users until they arrive — this is why they cannot refuse passengers, cited as one of the major complaints about taxi services, along with reckless driving and rudeness.

Users are assured of a gracious reception by drivers, with vans being equipped with free WiFi and mobile phone chargers.

Drivers can focus on being friendly and attentive to passengers as they receive 10,000 won fixed pay per hour regardless of the distance they drive.

The success of the service is in contrast to the situation facing Kakao.

The nation’s top mobile messenger operator was planning to officially launch its ride-sharing service on Dec. 17, but had to postpone the plan due to continued protests from taxi unions, with one taxi driver even setting himself on fire.

Taxi unions are claiming the Kakao service will reduce the number of their passengers and kill the industry.

The standing law bans privately owned cars from being offered for such services, but an exception clause states they can be used during commute times. Considering this, Kakao said it will set a limit so drivers can respond to calls twice a day.

But taxi unions, as well as some lawmakers, say the service is “illegal,” claiming the company interpreted the law arbitrarily.

VCNC stressed its service is legal as it offers both 11-seat vans and outsourced drivers.

“We did not attempt to avoid the standing law,” VCNC CEO Park Jae-uk said during an Oct. 9 press conference.

“Tada service was created after we mulled ways of offering legal services within the law.”