[Interview] Tom White, Uber Head: "Innovating Mobility through Collaboration with Korean Taxis"

Tom White, Head of Uber Korea and Japan

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Uber stated regarding its entry into the domestic market, "We will continue efforts to promote mobility innovation in close cooperation with the taxi industry."

Tom White, Head of Uber Korea and Japan, explained in an interview with Asia Economy on the 31st, "We consider Korea a very important market."

Headquartered in San Francisco, USA, Uber is the world's largest ride-sharing service company, operating in over 900 cities across 70 countries including the US and Europe. In Korea, Uber offers services such as the premium taxi 'Uber Black', general taxi brokerage service 'Uber Taxi', foreigner-exclusive 'International Taxi', charter service for travelers 'Uber Trip', and disabled-only 'Uber Assist'.

Regarding the Korean market, White said, "Korea already has a highly developed level of mobility services compared to other countries," adding, "It is undoubtedly an attractive market." In particular, White noted that the passage of the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act in March has resolved market uncertainties. He expressed expectations, saying, "Once the Mobility Innovation Committee presents specific directions, an optimal environment for mobility business will be created."

Currently, the Korean mobility market is being reorganized into a franchise taxi system, dominated by Kakao Mobility's 'Kakao T Blue' and KST Mobility's 'Macaron Taxi'. Each company has secured 9,800 and 10,000 franchise taxis respectively.

White cited 'safety' features as Uber's unique competitiveness. Uber provides passengers with information about the called vehicle and driver, allowing users to verify before boarding that the vehicle is the one they requested. He explained, "Uber's 'Trip Check' feature detects situations where the Uber vehicle stops for more than 5 minutes or deviates from the planned route, indicating a possible accident."

Uber particularly emphasized 'cooperation' with the domestic taxi industry. White stated, "Uber respects Korea's regulatory environment and seeks to establish an equal partnership with taxis," adding, "Our goal is to provide services that enhance user convenience while helping the growth of the taxi industry based on Uber's technological capabilities."

Uber is also considering various services to integrate with taxis domestically in the future. Uber is reviewing dynamic pricing and pet taxi services that allow pets to ride together. White added, "Based on Uber's technology and accumulated knowledge and experience, we aim to introduce services best suited to the Korean market."

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