Macaron Taxi Expands Franchise Business to 10 Locations Nationwide Including Seoul and Daegu

Preparing to Launch 'Hospital Companion Mobility Service'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] KST Mobility, the operator of Macaron Taxi, announced on the 3rd that it will embark on nationwide mobility innovation as a platform franchise business operator in line with the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act.

KST Mobility plans to submit a business plan change application to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport early this month to expand the platform franchise business area. Following this, the KST Mobility platform franchise business area will increase to a total of 10 locations, including Seoul, Daegu, Ulsan, Jeju, Osan, Hwaseong, Suwon, and Bucheon, in addition to Daejeon and Sejong, which have already been approved as transportation franchise business areas. All franchise taxis necessary to operate the platform franchise business in these regions have been secured.

Currently, the number of taxis contracted with KST Mobility and Macaron Taxi franchise agreements reaches about 3,600 in Seoul and approximately 4,000 in other regions. Notably, there are franchise agreements for about 1,460 taxis in Ulsan, 680 in Daegu, and 700 in Daejeon. In the future, the platform franchise business area will be expanded mainly to major metropolitan cities such as Gyeonggi-do and Busan.

KST Mobility is also preparing innovative franchise services that align with the purpose of the platform franchise business. Platform franchise operators can develop differentiated services, such as child car seats, and provide them together with transportation services. Adding special value to mobility through innovative services tailored to user demand and requirements is an important element of the platform franchise business.

To this end, KST Mobility is preparing to launch a "Hospital Companion Mobility Service." This service matches a companion manager to transportation-vulnerable individuals who need hospital accompaniment, such as elderly parents, children, or pregnant women, supporting not only transportation but also all related matters concerning hospital visits for medical purposes. An application for an ICT regulatory sandbox demonstration exemption for this service is planned for submission within this month.

The service is being developed in collaboration with MavenPlus, a technology-sharing platform company, which developed the hospital companion support platform "GoWithYou." After selecting a vehicle supporting hospital accompaniment on the Macaron Taxi app and entering the destination and visit time, the Macaron platform dispatches a taxi, and GoWithYou assigns a companion manager for matching. The service will operate on a prepayment fare system that reflects the estimated transportation cost and personal service fees, confirming an integrated fare in advance.

Lee Haeng-yeol, CEO of KST Mobility, stated, "We will strengthen innovative technological capabilities such as artificial intelligence, big data, and app meters to create a true mobility platform innovation that offers users special value in mobility beyond simple transportation services."

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revised and promulgated the enforcement regulations of the Passenger Transport Service Act, which include easing the criteria for personal taxi acquisition and taxi franchise business licensing. The revised enforcement regulations contain significant deregulation measures to improve taxi services and enhance competitiveness. In particular, the licensing criteria for platform franchise businesses have been significantly relaxed compared to the existing transportation franchise business standards. In special cities and metropolitan cities, platform franchise businesses can be operated if franchise taxis account for 1% of the total number of taxis or at least 500 vehicles; in business areas with a population of 500,000 or more, 1.5% or more; and in business areas with a population under 500,000, 2.0% or more.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.