Seoul taxis to offer special transport services
By Lee Suh-yoon
Starting next year, passengers in Seoul will be able to find cabs for their furry companions, the Seoul Metropolitan Government confirmed last week.
A dog enjoys a ride on his seat of a pet taxi run by private drivers. / Yonhap
The taxi industry's move comes amid mounting competition with ridesharing apps like Uber and Kakao, both of which are getting closer to clearing regulatory hurdles.
Currently, commercial ride-hailing apps are allowed to operate with private drivers for “specialized” services, a grey area that ranges from a premium sedan experience to pet transport. Rush hours, too, are an exception.
Alarmed by the expanding encroachment of ridesharing apps that enlist unlicensed vehicles, Seoul's taxi drivers came up with a plan to build their own app.
The plan, drafted by a coalition of some 4,000 taxi drivers in Seoul, includes special transport services for pets, women, the elderly, and delivery parcels.
Passengers will be able to call the participating taxis from an app. The taxis providing specialized services will start the meter from a greater base fare, which has not been finalized yet.
“The taxi drivers got together and submitted a proposal to us on Sep. 28, and we plan to give them special licenses needed for the extra-charge transport by the end of December,” Park Byeong-sung, the head of taxi transport policies at the city government, confirmed with The Korea Times last week.
“We will first work out small details with the taxi drivers, such as not allowing the driver to see the passenger's destination before he or she gets in, to prevent them from refusing rides to short-distance travelers.”
The relevant law that allows groups of taxis to offer special services for higher fares was passed in 2009, but it was not actively implemented until recently. Now the startup presence in these niche markets has started worrying taxi drivers.
“We believe the pet transport services being offered by private businesses have many illegal aspects to them,” Park said.
The taxi industry's decision to expand into special services will likely benefit consumers ― especially pet owners who cannot easily find willing cabs for a ride to the vet.
Currently startups like Pet Me Up and Pet Tayo offer cage-free cushioned rides for pets, starting at around 8,000 won ($7).
The apps are growing with the country's pet population, which reached the 10 million mark several years ago.
Special transport apps, however, are just a small part of the taxi industry's growing worries. Last month tens of thousands of taxi drivers poured out onto the streets to protest Kakao's planned launch of a ridesharing app. The Kakao Carpool app for drivers currently has over 500,000 downloads on Google Play Store.
Public opinion stands divided. Some welcome ridesharing apps as the solution to finding a ride back home on Friday nights, when the demand for a cab far exceeds its supply, leading many drivers to refuse passengers based on travel distance.
Taxi unions held another mass rally against ridesharing apps in front of the National Assembly last week.