Kakao Mobility to Develop 'Kakao T Bike 2.0' System

Kakao Mobility announced on the 4th that it will revamp the ‘Kakao T Bike’ service and launch ‘Kakao T Bike 2.0’ within the second quarter.

‘Kakao T Bike’ is a shared personal mobility service first introduced by Kakao Mobility in 2019, and since its launch, it has recorded a total travel distance of 50.67 million kilometers. This distance is equivalent to circling the Earth’s circumference 1,264 times.

Marking the fifth year since the service launch, Kakao Mobility conducted a usability survey as part of the ‘Kakao T Bike 2.0’ project to keep pace with the changing market and user demands. The survey revealed changes in various aspects compared to the early days of the service, including diversified regional operational characteristics, user usage patterns, and the shared personal mobility market environment.

Accordingly, Kakao Mobility conducted a survey from September last year to April this year targeting about 12,000 users who had used the service within the past year. Regarding satisfaction points during service use (multiple responses allowed), the top answers were ▲convenient rental method (59.3%), ▲ease of use of the in-app map UI (47.6%), and ▲well-maintained devices (21%). There were also demands for changes to the existing service. In the open-ended question about newly desired features, many responses indicated the need for changes such as basic usage time modification, discount rates, membership, and tier systems.

Users who participated in the survey ranked ▲abolishing the basic usage time (57%) as the top desired reform (multiple responses allowed). Analyzing actual Kakao T Bike usage data showed that short-distance rides shorter than the current basic usage time of ‘15 minutes’ accounted for 85% of total rides.

Additionally, demands for ▲introducing subscription passes (44%), ▲benefits for long-term use (33%), and ▲diversification of device types (10%) followed. Among these, the preference for subscription pass types was higher for ‘monthly’ rather than daily or weekly options. The need for diversification of bicycle devices was also confirmed. The most selected option (multiple responses allowed) was ▲providing phone holders (53%), followed by responses related to driving performance improvements such as ▲increased motor output (37%) and ▲speed enhancement (35%).

Kakao Mobility will revamp the service based on the user survey. The positively evaluated aspects will be strengthened, and the user-centered Kakao T Bike 2.0 service will be newly launched within the second quarter of this year. They plan to reconsider the basic usage time setting and introduce new options such as ▲subscription passes and ▲discount benefits for long-term use. Additionally, demands for device diversification, including the activation of regular bicycles, will also be reflected.

Ahn Gyu-jin, Vice President and Head of Business Division at Kakao Mobility, said, “Since we first launched Kakao T Bike in 2019, the shared personal mobility market environment has changed, and user behavior has become more segmented and diverse. To keep up with these changes, we analyzed and reflected user behaviors and demands revealed through this survey and plan to introduce a revamped, user-centered service within the second quarter.”

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