Introduction of GPS-Based App Meter... Accelerating Innovation in Mobility Services

Confirmed driving route, time, and fare before boarding... Providing diverse and convenient mobility services
Legislative and administrative notice of amendments to the Automobile Management Act Enforcement Rules until the 22nd of next month

Kakao Mobility App Meter Service.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The government will institutionalize the app meter, which has been operating under a regulatory sandbox temporary approval system. This is expected to make taxi services more convenient and accelerate innovation in mobility services.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 9th that it will begin legislative and administrative notice from the 10th on the amendment of the "Enforcement Rules of the Automobile Management Act" and the "Regulations on Automobile Inspection Procedures," which institutionalize GPS-based taxi app meters.

The app meter calculates the vehicle's location, travel distance, and travel time using GPS information and determines taxi fares accordingly. It serves as a technological foundation enabling the discovery and calculation of innovative taxi services and fares. It differs from the existing electric meters, which calculate distance and time and determine fares using pulses (electrical signals) based on wheel rotations.

There has been continuous demand and technological development for app meters in the related industry. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport first established temporary inspection standards for app meters in June last year and approved conditional temporary permits through the regulatory sandbox system (requiring businesses to start operations after temporary inspection by the Ministry) for app meter development and demonstration. Since October 2019, a total of eight companies have received regulatory sandbox temporary approval, including Kakao, T-money, LiraSoft, SK Telecom, Uber, KST Mobility, VCNC, and Kona I. Among them, Kakao, T-money, and LiraSoft have completed the Ministry's inspection, and Kakao and T-money are currently operating app meters.

With this amendment, once the app meter is institutionalized, companies can use app meters after inspection by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport without going through intermediate procedures such as regulatory sandbox application, approval, or temporary permits. The institutionalization of app meters does not restrict the use of existing electric meters, and taxi operators can choose which to use.

The amendment defines taxi meter types as taxi electric meters (existing) and taxi app meters (new) (Enforcement Rules) and specifies production, repair inspection standards, and usage inspection standards in detail (notification).

With the institutionalization of app meters, taxi services are expected to become more convenient and mobility service innovation to accelerate. From the passenger's perspective, the Ministry expects expanded choices through various services and subscription-based fare plans.

Passengers using taxis equipped with app meters can be informed in advance of the travel route, time, and fare before boarding and select taxi services at confirmed fares. Even after boarding, they can check the real-time travel route and fare, making taxi fare calculation more transparent. Automation of surcharge fares will fundamentally eliminate errors in fare collection and misunderstandings about meter manipulation by drivers.

For taxi operators and drivers, using existing electronic meters has involved inconveniences such as having to visit designated companies in cities or provinces to update fares when taxi fares increase, as well as replacement costs. The introduction of app meters eliminates these inconveniences and costs. In Seoul, fare revisions have cost more than 4 billion KRW (about 60,000 KRW per vehicle) each time. Additionally, based on the introduction of app meters, taxi operators are expected to accelerate service innovation by discovering new services based on various fare plans such as monthly subscriptions.

Oh Myung-so, Director General of Comprehensive Transportation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "This institutional improvement is not only significant as the introduction of a new taxi meter but also serves as a catalyst for mobility innovation by integrating new technologies with the taxi industry." He added, "App meters are expected to be a useful means to implement government policies such as revitalizing branded taxis, advanced integration of platforms and taxis, expanding customer choice, and service innovation."

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