Tip for Taxi Drivers... 7 out of 10 People Are 'Opposed'

Open Survey Results from 1,000 Respondents
'Tip Negatively Affects Future Taxi Use' Response Also at 76%

On the 19th of last month, Kakao Mobility's taxi-hailing service 'KakaoT' pilot-launched a 'gratitude tip' feature, and a survey revealed that 7 out of 10 consumers oppose the introduction of a tip function on taxi-hailing platforms.

On the 20th, consumer data platform Open Survey announced the results of a perception survey on the tip function of taxi-hailing platforms. According to the results, 71.7% of respondents leaned toward opposing the introduction of the tip function. Those leaning toward support accounted for 17.2%, and 11.1% responded that they were unsure. Additionally, perceptions of the introduction of the tip function on some taxi-hailing platforms were overwhelmingly 'very negative' (36.7%) or 'negative' (21.6%), compared to 'very positive' (3.6%) or 'positive' (10.5%).

The appearance of KakaoT Taxi
[Photo by Yonhap News]

When asked how the introduction of the taxi tip function would affect future taxi use, 'negative' (40.5%) and 'very negative' (35.7%) responses made up 76.2% of the total, representing the majority. In contrast, 'positive' (13.0%) and 'very positive' (2.3%) responses accounted for only 15.3%, and 8.5% said it would have no effect at all.

In a subsequent survey on domestic taxi fares, 53.0% responded that fares were 'high,' more than double the 24.5% who said fares were at an 'appropriate level.' Those who said fares were 'very high' accounted for 11.1%. In reality, although taxi fares in South Korea are relatively low compared to other OECD advanced countries, passengers’ perceptions were different.

The survey was conducted by allocating and extracting 1,000 panelists aged 20 to 50 in proportion to the population according to Statistics Korea, with a sampling error of ±2.03% at an 80% confidence level.

Kakao Mobility's 'Thank You Tip' feature, pilot introduced on the 19th of last month [Image source: Screenshot from Kakao Mobility homepage]

Meanwhile, Kakao Mobility pilot-launched the 'gratitude tip' feature on KakaoT Blue, which operates without ride refusals after separate training, on the 19th of last month. This feature triggers a tip payment window immediately after giving the highest service rating of 5 stars when using the taxi-hailing service on the KakaoT app, allowing passengers to choose a tip of 1,000 KRW, 1,500 KRW, or 2,000 KRW.

Kakao Mobility explained that tipping is entirely voluntary for passengers and that the company does not take any commission from the tips. They also stated that if a driver is reported for forcing tips, the taxi will be barred from using this feature, and passengers will be refunded. According to Kakao Mobility, about 2,000 passengers used this feature daily during the one-week pilot period.

However, consumers are concerned that the introduction of the tip function by Kakao Mobility, which holds a 90% market share in the taxi-hailing market, amid increased user burdens due to taxi fare hikes this year, may lead to the spread of the still unfamiliar tipping culture starting with taxis. In fact, recently, some cafes and restaurants have reportedly demanded tips from customers during ordering or placed tip jars at counters, sparking controversy online.

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