Ride Kakao Taxi in Guam... Launch of 'Kakao T Taxi & Airport Pickup Reservation' Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao Mobility announced on the 14th that it will launch a ‘Taxi and Airport Pickup Reservation Service’ locally in Guam as part of its ‘Kakao T Overseas Reservation’ service. This is the first case of directly applying and operating the Kakao T infrastructure overseas.

Kakao T Overseas Reservation is a service that allows users to pre-book and use various local transportation options, including taxis, through the Kakao T app while abroad. To implement this service, Kakao Mobility collaborated with Miki Taxi Service, the largest taxi brand in Guam, becoming the first domestic mobility company to apply infrastructure spanning platform, driver app, and admin to the local taxi industry overseas, and started taxi and airport pickup reservation services.

Visitors to Guam can book Guam taxi and airport pickup services through the ‘Overseas Travel’ menu in the travel tab of the Kakao T app. It is also accessible as a recommended linked service when booking Guam flight tickets via Kakao T Air International Service. For each service, ▲Guam local taxi reservations can be made from 10 minutes before local Guam time up to 4 weeks in advance, and ▲Guam airport pickup reservations can be made from at least 6 hours to up to 4 weeks before the boarding time.

The taxi and airport pickup reservation services operating in Guam aim to provide enhanced quality by ▲involving veteran local drivers with an average of over 15 years of driving experience, ▲continuously conducting training based on Kakao T’s service quality policies, and ▲introducing a driver evaluation feature.

Convenience features tailored to Guam’s local service environment are also provided. ▲To resolve language barriers, a ‘message auto-translation feature’ between drivers and passengers and ▲a ‘safety message feature’ that allows sharing real-time location and estimated arrival times have been applied. Additionally, for Guam airport pickup reservations, to reduce inconvenience caused by flight delays or postponements, ▲the system is designed so that local drivers can check real-time flight status directly in the Kakao T app using the user’s pre-entered flight number information and prepare the vehicle accordingly.

A system to respond to unexpected situations such as accidents or lost item reports during service use is also in place. ▲All vehicles are covered by automobile insurance protecting both drivers and passengers, and ▲a local customer center operating 24 hours in Korean is also available.

The fare for Guam taxi and airport pickup reservation services is operated under a pre-determined fare system based on the policies of local partner companies, calculated according to time and distance. Users can check the total fare in advance during the reservation stage before using the service, and once the reservation is confirmed, automatic payment is made via the card registered in the Kakao T app. Service fees beyond the fare range from 0 to 3,000 KRW depending on local operating conditions and will be temporarily free to commemorate the launch.

Kakao Mobility plans to establish a stable service environment through the Guam local taxi and airport pickup reservation services and expand its overseas reservation services to provide various local mobility services in Guam based on platform operation know-how and ICT technology. It also plans to expand the user base to provide Kakao T mobility services not only to Koreans but also to tourists visiting from various countries.

Ahn Gyu-jin, Vice President and Head of Business Division at Kakao Mobility, said, “As the first case of applying Kakao T infrastructure overseas, we are starting taxi reservation and airport pickup services in Guam to provide safe and convenient transportation for tourists visiting Guam. Based on the service operation experience in Guam, we will strive to offer Kakao Mobility’s advanced platform services in broader overseas markets in the future.”

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