Kakao Mobility Upgrades 'Taxi Driver Pro Membership'... Expands Services and Partnerships

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kakao Mobility announced on the 23rd that it has launched an upgraded version of the 'Kakao T Taxi Driver Pro Membership (hereinafter Pro Membership).' The Pro Membership is a paid additional option product costing 99,000 KRW per month, introduced last March to improve taxi operation efficiency for taxi drivers.

The upgraded version has improved service functions for more efficient use in the field and significantly enhanced additional benefits.

First, it offers a partnership program specialized for taxi drivers. When purchasing the Kia Niro EV electric taxi trim, a purchase benefit of 500,000 KRW is provided, and up to 350,000 points are given when changing smartphones through the Pro Membership program. The smartphone points benefit applies when maintaining the Pro Membership for more than three months.

Discount benefits for consumables needed during taxi operation have also been prepared. Taxi-exclusive tires from Kumho Tire can be purchased at a discounted partnership price, and discounts are provided to purchase automotive products such as vehicle mats and high-speed wireless phone chargers online at the lowest prices.

Safety insurance for drivers is also provided. The safety insurance pays compensation, surgery fees, and treatment costs in case of damages such as assault or injury that may occur during operation, helping Pro Membership drivers focus on driving in a safe working environment. This benefit is scheduled to be introduced next month.

Changes have also been made to service functions. Drivers can check service strengths and areas for improvement through passenger review data and manage service quality by themselves, and they can monitor operation-related data such as the number of working days and completed trips.

The 'Destination Booster' function, which allows taxi drivers to quickly check calls to desired destinations, has also been changed. Considering the differences in administrative unit sizes and taxi usage volumes across regions nationwide, destination settings can be made at the district (gu) or town/village/neighborhood (eup/myeon/dong) level to prevent demand concentration only on Pro Membership drivers by analyzing movement data. Additionally, based on a personalized recommendation model, a list of recommended destinations such as driver-preferred areas, regions with the fastest dispatch based on driver location, high-demand areas, and garages is provided to enable more efficient taxi matching.

However, with this Pro Membership upgrade, the possibility has increased that Kakao taxi drivers who receive low ratings from passengers will not receive dispatch benefits.

The new terms include a provision that if a driver's rating is lower than the membership subscription standard rating separately announced by the company, the company may refuse or terminate the 'Pro Membership' subscription. While ratings were previously used only as a reference when calling a taxi, Kakao will now be able to manage subscribed taxis based on ratings.

Currently, there are concerns in the industry that if Kakao begins managing drivers based on ratings, dependency will deepen further.

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