Kakao to launch high－end taxi service this month ′벤츠가 택시로′...′카카오택시 블랙′ 등장

If you′re in Korea， you may have experienced the convenience of Kakao Taxi By the end of this month， there will be a high－end option dubbed ″Kakao Taxi Black″ if you feel like splashing out a bit Kim Min－ji reports A man nicely dressed in a suit greets his customer ″Hello You′re going to Sinchon？ Let me take you there ″ He even opens the door and puts safety first ″Please fasten your seatbelt ″ Kakao， operator of South Korea′s most popular messenger app KakaoTalk， has joined with a local taxi association to launch a high－end taxi service ″Our training was focused on being friendly and not refusing to accept customers Kindness comes first， and then comes safety ″ The service operates in the same way as Kakao′s existing cab－hailing app， KakaoTaxi that was launched in March， allowing a smartphone user to request a ride to a certain destination The base rate starts at 8－thousand won， roughly seven U S dollars which is quite pricey compared to a regular cab For instance， when traveling roughly 10 kilometers， it would cost less than 10 dollars for a regular taxi， 14 dollars for luxury cab， but over 23 dollars for a Kakao Taxi Black The service is seen as a way to create new profit sources for Kakao amid weak profits concerns ″There′s growing demand for more convenient services even if it means paying a higher price This is just the beginning， we believe it can later be used for tourism matters down the line ″ The official launch is expected at the end of this month But whether it will achieve success remains to be seen， as there have been criticisms that prices are too high， placing a burden on passengers， while the service also eats into the luxury cab businesses already in operation Kim Min－ji， Arirang News