Kakao Mobility announced the results of a survey conducted to understand taxi utilization patterns and identify areas for service improvement. The survey revealed that ‘quick dispatch’ is considered the most critical element of taxi service. It was found that the average time taken for taxi dispatch completion is the shortest for Kakao T.
This survey was commissioned by Kakao Mobility and was conducted by the mobile research firm ‘Open Survey’ with a total of 953 adult men and women residing in the metropolitan area from July 26 for one week. The participants were limited to those who had experience using dispatched taxis and had requested a taxi through a platform within the last month.
First, when asking 800 adult men and women in the metropolitan area about their inconveniences when using traditional hailed taxis (multiple responses allowed), the following were cited: ▲the process of getting a taxi on a major road (61.9%) ▲the inability to predict the time required to board a taxi (61%) ▲long time taken for taxi dispatch (59%) ▲denial of boarding (56.6%) and ▲the inability to ascertain travel time and fare in advance (48.9%).
Most of these inconveniences have been alleviated with the emergence of taxi calling platforms. Respondents noted the improvements experienced after using the Kakao T taxi calling service as follows: ▲prediction of travel time and fare (85.8%) ▲prediction of pickup time (82.8%) ▲payment convenience (82.4%) ▲boarding from a desired location (81.6%) ▲quick dispatch (65%).
Notably, ‘payment convenience’, which was not mentioned as an inconvenience with traditional taxis, ranked high in satisfaction after using Kakao T. Users recognized the discomfort in the payment process that they had not realized during traditional taxi boarding and this new experience of ‘automatic payment’ through the platform has been interpreted as a reason for increased satisfaction with taxi services. Kakao T was the first in the country to implement an ‘automatic payment’ feature in taxi services back in 2018.
When asked about the most critical factors in the ride experience through taxi calling platforms, 81.9% of respondents cited ‘quick dispatch’, followed by ▲accuracy of destination (51.1%) ▲cost of service (47.9%) ▲courtesy of drivers (35.6%) ▲payment convenience (26%) ▲cleanliness of vehicles (21.6%) ▲others (0.6%).
We also examined whether the demand for quick dispatch exists, even in situations where users heavily rely on taxis due to a lack of alternative transportation options, such as during early morning hours or in outer areas. When investigating the time frame in which users forego calling a taxi, the rate sharply jumped from ‘3 minutes’.
▲For 0-1 minute and 1-2 minutes, the rates were 1.4% and 3.9%, respectively, but ▲for 3-5 minutes, it was 25.1%, and for 5-10 minutes, it was 35.6%. This indicates that even in situations without other means of transportation, users’ expectations for quick dispatch are such that after 3 minutes, the taxi service is unlikely to satisfy their satisfaction.
Given that there is high demand for ‘quick dispatch’ in taxi services among users, a separate practical investigation was conducted to determine the ‘average time taken for dispatch completion after a taxi is called’. The results revealed that ▲Kakao T (1.02 minutes) ▲Platform A (1.22 minutes) ▲Platform B (1.46 minutes), showing that Kakao T is over 40% faster than its competitors.
Additionally, based on the critical cutoff of ‘3 minutes’, where the users’ abandonment rate drastically increases, the matching rates by platform were investigated, revealing Kakao T’s ‘less than 3 minutes’ matching rate at 92.2%, significantly higher than A Platform (83.7%) and B Platform (80.1%).
The practical investigation was conducted by interviewing 153 adult men and women residing in the metropolitan area who were in the process of actually riding taxis and analyzing ride records. To maintain the uniformity of the survey conditions, the study was limited to taxi platforms capable of calling both regular free taxis and franchise taxis classified under the medium taxi category by the Passenger Transport Service Act.
Kakao Mobility’s CEO, Ryu Geung-sun, commented, “It has been confirmed that the platform calling market created through Kakao T has not only improved customer convenience across the overall taxi experience but also that advanced dispatch technology is helping users move quickly. We will continue to listen to user feedback to improve taxi service quality and will focus on the introduction of new features and the advancement of technology.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr