Kakao Mobility Launches New Real-time Taxi Services on Guam, Furthering its Ventures into the Global Market

[Green Economic Daily= by Jain Rhyu] Kakao Mobility has stated on the 30th it has begun offering real-time taxi services in Guam through the ‘Kakao T’ app. Foreign tourists can access the same services through the global mobility platform ‘k.ride’ app.

Kakao T app allows users to call a taxi in real-time on site through the ‘overseas travel’ menu located in-app ‘travel’ tab, while the k.ride app can call a taxi simply by launching the app itself.

Through the app, users can call a taxi on Guam not only locally but from anywhere outside of Guam.

Users can also book taxi pickups at the airport by simply entering their flight information, and the driver will arrive ccording to the designated arrival time, waiting for the user even when the flight is delayed.

The Guam taxi service provided through Kakao T and k.ride features a safe and convenient travel environment, including the following: ▲ Operation on a pre-confirmed flat fare system that allows transparent fare checks ▲ All vehicles can carry up to six passengers, and ▲ Enrollment in a reassurance insurance policy which supports local medical expenses in the event of an accident.

In addition, the app enhances user convenience by offering ▲ Message auto-translation services, which translate conversations between drivers and passengers on a real time basis and ▲ ‘Reassurance messages’ that share the user’s current location and estimated arrival time.

Kakao Mobility has partnered with Miki Taxi Service, the largest local taxi brand in Guam with more than 30 years of operating experience, and has provided taxi and airport pickup booking services in Guam through Kakao T since 2022.

Kakao Mobility built infrastructure spanning the platform, driver app, and admin since 2022 for their airport booking service. This allowed users to book a taxi in advance, but did not allow users to call a taxi in real-time.

It also operates a Guam leisure service based on partnerships with leading local corporations, offering a variety of local experiences such as city taxi tours and dolphin cruises without any extra cost, at a transparent and affordable rate.

This new real-time taxi calling service became feasible as Kakao Mobility launched a global taxi driver app in Guam. Kakao Mobility stated that this new launch is significant as it establishes a foundation that encompasses the entire service, from demand and supply apps to the control system, rather than a simple roaming model.

The Global taxi driver app uses high-tech infomation and communications technology(ICT) integrated on the Kakao T platform, a MaaS(Mobility as a Service) platform. The UI/UX interface is also designed to be optimal for the local driving environment, which Kakao Mobility hopes would result in a synergizing effect with the professional know-how of veteran taxi drivers in Guam, with more than 15 years of experience.

Kakao Mobility plans to expand similar infrastructure in other regions with underdeveloped mobility networks. Currently, Kakao T and k.ride offer ride-calling services in 38 countries, including the United States, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

Vice President An Gyu-jin, chief business officer (CBO) of Kakao Mobility, stated, “It is meaningful that we are providing real-time taxi calling service, by directly applying technology and operational know-how proven domestically, to overseas on-site supply infrastructure,” before adding, “We hope that domestic and international travelers visiting Guam during the upcoming Chuseok holiday will enjoy convenient and safe mobility on site through taxi calling and reservation services.”

The k.ride app is a global mobility app from Kakao Mobility for foreigners, launched on June 2024. The app seeks to abolish languages barriers by offering auto translation services for over 100 languages when users look up their destinations and when conversing with the driver; it also enhances user convenience by offering automatic payment on foreign credit cards and allowing utilization of overseas mobile payment services such as GrabPay.

Kakao T’s ‘Overseas Transport’ service provides taxi calling services in foreign countries for Koreans traveling overseas, so that they can use the Kakao T app for seamless travel.

In their annual 2023 Kakao Mobility report, Kakao T’s ‘Overseas Transport’ service is most frequently used by Koreans traveling in Vietnam, followed by those in Japan, Guam, Thailand, and Singapore.

The number of foreign travellers in Korea using the Kakao T service is steadily increasing, almost reaching pre-COVID19 pandemic levels by the end of 2023.

Most foreigners using the Kakao T app in Korea used the Korean national telephone code, +82, to access the service which shows that they either bought Korean sim cards or are those that are staying in Korea. Other nationalities included Singapore, US/Canada, Japan, and China.

카카오모빌리티는 괌 현지에서도 한국처럼 카카오 T에서 실시간으로 택시를 호출할 수 있게 됐다고 30일 밝혔다. 외국인 관광객은 글로벌 모빌리티 플랫폼 ‘케이라이드(k.ride)’ 앱으로 같은 서비스를 이용할 수 있다.

카카오 T 이용자는 괌 현지에서 앱 내 ‘여행’ 탭의 해외여행 메뉴에서, 케이라이드 이용자는 앱을 실행하면 괌택시를 바로 호출할 수 있다. 

또한 괌택시 사전 예약 서비스는 괌 현지뿐 아니라 해외 어디서든 신청할 수 있으며,  특히 공항 픽업 택시 예약은 항공편 정보만 입력하면 비행기 도착 시간에 맞춰 택시 기사가 대기해, 항공편이 지연되더라도 걱정 없이 편리하게 이용할 수 있다.

카카오 T와 케이라이드를 통해 제공되는 괌택시 서비스는 ▲사전 확정 요금제로 운영되어 투명하게 요금을 확인할 수 있고 ▲전 차량 최대 6인까지 탑승 가능하며 ▲안심 보험 가입으로 사고 시 현지 치료비를 지원하는 등 안전하고 편리한 이동 환경을 제공하는 것이 특징이다. 

이 밖에도 ▲기사와 승객 간 대화를 실시간으로 번역하는 ‘메시지 자동 번역’ ▲실시간 위치와 도착 예정 시간을 공유하는 ‘안심 메시지’  등을 통해 이용자 편의성을 높였다.

카카오모빌리티는 30년 이상의 운영 경험을 보유한 현지 최대 택시 브랜드 ‘미키택시 서비스(Miki Taxi Service)’와 손잡고 지난 2022년부터 카카오 T를 통해 괌에서 택시 및 공항 픽업 예약 서비스를 제공해왔다. 

이를 위해 카카오모빌리티는 2022년부터 플랫폼, 기사앱, 어드민에 이르는 인프라를 구축했다. 또한 현지 우수 기업과의 제휴를 기반으로 한 '괌 레저' 서비스를 운영하며, 시내택시 투어, 돌핀 크루즈 등 다양한 현지 체험 상품을 추가 결제 없는 투명하고 합리적인 비용으로 제공 중이다.

이번 실시간 택시 호출 서비스 제공은 카카오모빌리티가 괌 현지에서 ‘글로벌 전용 택시기사앱’을 출시하면서 가능해졌다. 즉, 단순 로밍 형태가 아닌 수요·공급 앱부터 관제 시스템까지 서비스 전반을 포괄하는 기반을 구축했다는 점에서 의미가 깊다. 

글로벌 택시기사앱에는 통합 모빌리티(MaaS, Mobility as a Service) 플랫폼 카카오 T에 집약된 배차 엔진 등 고도화된 ICT 기술이 적용됐다. 또한, 현지 운행 환경에 최적화된 UI/UX(사용자 인터페이스 및 경험) 설계로 평균 15년 이상 경력의 베테랑 괌택시 기사들의 전문성과 시너지를 보일 것으로 기대된다.

카카오모빌리티는 향후 괌에서 공급자 플랫폼을 구축해 서비스를 운영한 경험을 바탕으로, 괌과 유사하게 모빌리티 인프라가 부족한 국가에서도 공급자 인프라 구축을 추진한다는 방침이다. 

현재 카카오 T와 케이라이드는 한국을 비롯해 괌, 미국, 일본, 동남아, 유럽 등 전 세계 약 38개국에서 현지 차량 호출 서비스를 제공하고 있다.

안규진 카카오모빌리티 사업부문총괄(CBO, Chief Business Officer) 부사장은 “국내에서 검증된 기술과 운영 노하우를 해외 현지 공급 인프라에 직접 적용해, 실시간 택시 호출을 제공한다는 점에서 의미가 크다”며 “다가오는 추석 연휴에 괌을 찾는 국내외 여행객들이 택시 호출과 예약 서비스를 통해 현지에서도 편리하고 안전한 이동을 경험하시길 바란다”고 밝혔다.

한편, 케이라이드(k.ride)는 카카오모빌리티가 2024년 6월 선보인 외국인 전용 글로벌 모빌리티 플랫폼이다. 

목적지 검색 및 기사와의 채팅 시 100개 이상의 언어를 자동 번역해 언어 장벽을 최소화했으며, 해외 발행 카드를 통한 자동결제와 해외 간편결제 기능을 도입해 결제 편의성을 높인 것이 특징이다. 

카카오 T 해외차량호출은 해외에 방문한 한국인 이용자가 카카오 T 앱 하나로 끊김없는(seamless) 이동을 할 수 있도록 현지 차량 호출을 지원하는 서비스다. 

카카오모빌리티 2023 리포트에 따르면 현재 카카오 T 해외차량호출 서비스는 베트남에서 가장 많이 사용되고, 그 다음으로 일본, 괌, 태국, 싱가포르 순위다. 

외국인이 한국에서 카카오 T를 사용하는 경우도 꾸준히 우상향 중으로, 2023년 말에 코로나 이전의 사용량을 거의 회복했다. 

외국인이 사용하는 경우는 나라별 전화코드로 살펴봤을 때, 한국 심카드나 한국에 체류하는 경우의 외국인들이 카카오 T를 사용한 경우가 가장 많았고, 이후 싱가포르, 미국/캐나다, 일본, 중국 순서였다.