Uber Taxi Increases Dispatch Speed, Targets Corporate Clients with 'Uber for Business'

Launch of B2B Service 'Uber for Business'

Uber Taxi is launching a new service called ‘Uber for Business’ targeting corporate clients. Additionally, it plans to increase the number of affiliated drivers to speed up taxi dispatch.

Song Jin-woo, General Manager (GM) of Uber Taxi Korea, announced the launch of the service at a press conference held on the morning of the 20th at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, stating, "Uber for Business is a corporate mobility solution optimized for business travel such as fieldwork or business trips, providing services and expense management systems tailored for companies."

Song Jin-woo, General Manager (GM) of Uber Taxi Korea, is giving a presentation at the Uber Taxi Connect Day held on the morning of the 20th at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Uber Taxi

Through the Uber for Business feature available in the Uber app, users can access services such as ‘easy switching and addition of payment methods’ and ‘proxy booking.’ If multiple cards are registered as payment methods, users can directly select which card to use for payment. For example, when using a taxi for personal purposes, a personal card can be selected, and when using it for business, a corporate card can be chosen for payment. It is also possible to book a taxi on behalf of someone else. A colleague located in another area can call and pay for a taxi ride on their behalf.

Thanks to Uber’s global network, the same service can be used not only domestically but also when taking taxis abroad. Approximately 200 Korean companies operating overseas are also utilizing Uber for Business. Globally, multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola and Samsung use U4B for business purposes.

Last year, Uber Taxi set key goals to enhance brand awareness through rebranding and improve dispatch success rates. As a result, the number of rides increased by more than 50% compared to the previous year, and the number of affiliated drivers more than doubled. Uber Taxi explained that the increase in foreign customers was particularly due to Uber’s recognition overseas.

GM Song continued, "We have raised the dispatch success rate and are confident that we will achieve solid results in Seoul," announcing this year’s strategy. Uber’s top priorities this year are ‘expanding users through stable dispatch success rates,’ ‘strengthening recruitment of quality taxi drivers,’ and ‘introducing new services reflecting domestic consumer characteristics and demand.’ Song stated, "Since many Uber Taxi users frequently use airports, demand for large taxis is increasing," adding, "We are preparing to launch Premier Van and plan to introduce additional services within this year."

Uber is a mobility platform providing ride-hailing services in over 10,000 cities across more than 70 countries worldwide, officially launched in 2010. In Korea, it currently offers services such as Uber Taxi (affiliated), regular taxis (mid-sized), and the premium service Uber Black. While Uber operates ‘UberX,’ a carpooling service connecting regular drivers and passengers overseas, it discontinued UberX in Korea following legal controversies.

In Korea, Uber initially operated through a joint venture called ‘UT’ with T Map Mobility but rebranded to Uber Taxi in March last year. In December last year, T Map Mobility announced it would acquire all shares of UT it held. UT was established in April 2021 with Uber and T Map Mobility investing 51% and 49%, respectively.

Regarding reports that Uber is cooperating with Naver Map in the taxi-hailing sector, GM Song said, "There is nothing concrete yet," and explained, "We are collaborating not only with Naver but also with other large corporations, financial companies, and mobility firms." He added, "We are looking for ways to coexist through more platform companies."

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