Seoul Private Taxi Transport Business Association Signs Comprehensive Business Agreement with Blackpin for Taxi Industry Development

[Seoul City Private Taxi Transportation Business Association Chairman Cha Chun-seon / Blackfin Co., Ltd. CEO Kang Soon-gu]

The Seoul Private Taxi Transportation Business Association (Chairman Cha Soon-sun) announced on February 18 that it has signed a comprehensive business agreement with Blackpin Co., Ltd. (CEO Kang Soon-gu) to develop the taxi industry.

Recently, the taxi industry has been facing increasing difficulties due to a decrease in passengers caused by COVID-19 and the irrational taxi fare system that has continued for decades. They are also struggling to prepare countermeasures for rental car-based paid passenger transport services, autonomous taxi pilot projects, and urban air mobility (UAM), which will be fully launched starting this year.

Additionally, adapting to the now fully established smartphone-based taxi-hailing culture, resolving conflicts with platform operators, and building various taxi value-added services desired by citizens remain major challenges.

In response, the Seoul Private Taxi Association declared the Taxi 4.0 era to solve current issues and become a leading figure in future Seoul transportation services, and announced plans to prepare accordingly. The Taxi 4.0 era refers to a stage where various existing advanced technologies are all integrated on a mobility platform base and perfectly realized as a future-type mobility service.

As the first step toward the Taxi 4.0 era, the Seoul Private Taxi Association plans to collaborate with Blackpin, which has both deep understanding of the taxi industry and specialized mobility experience, to open the nation’s first Mobility Support Center (MSC) around March this year and expand to operate four centers in the future.

Through the establishment of the Mobility Support Center (MSC), Blackpin stated it will provide services to Seoul private taxi operators such as information on various mobility options, consulting on the introduction and overall operation of eco-friendly electric taxis, experience and education on autonomous taxis and UAM, as well as health promotion and rest facility management.

Furthermore, the Seoul Private Taxi Association and Blackpin plan to promote a new type of private-led taxi license conversion project. To this end, they will establish a taxi license conversion organization in the first half of this year and form a specialized committee under it to prepare detailed business plans. Subsequently, they plan to officially propose the project to related government agencies such as Seoul City and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and conduct pilot services within this year through consultations with taxi-related organizations.

Chairman Cha Soon-sun of the Seoul Private Taxi Association said, “Over the next five years, unprecedented changes are expected in the domestic mobility market, including taxis. In this process, to prevent the taxi industry from becoming obsolete, we will do our best to quickly integrate taxis into the 4th industrial revolution environment and position taxis at the center of mobility by simultaneously promoting healthy competition and partnerships with IT, finance, and mobility sectors.”