Tada Officially Launches 'Tada Next'... "Expanding Supply to 1,500 Vehicles in Seoul by Year-End"

Lee Jeong-haeng, CEO of Tada

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Mobility platform ‘Tada’ announced the official launch of ‘Tada Next’ on the 14th.

Lee Jeonghaeng, the newly appointed CEO of Tada, who appeared in public for the first time since taking office, declared, "We will differentiate ‘Tada Next’ as a high-quality mobility service that satisfies not only users but also drivers, and expand the supply of Tada Next vehicles in the Seoul area to 1,500 units within this year and a total of 3,000 units by 2023."

Tada Next, a call mediation business model, is a mobility service operated by drivers holding premium taxi licenses with at least five years of accident-free experience, using 7- to 9-seater vans. It allows boarding with pets, and ensures comfortable and safe travel for late-night solo riders, family customers, and more. It also provides a mobile workspace with various electronic device charging jacks and in-car Wi-Fi support.

Since launching the beta service at the end of last November, Tada has attracted over 130,000 new subscribers. The total accumulated number of subscribers has reached 2.1 million. Tada explained that the repurchase rate of customers who experienced Tada Next tends to increase with repeated rides, emphasizing that the key factor is the high customer satisfaction score averaging 4.95 out of 5. As of March, the number of completed drop-offs (rides called and completed) for Tada Next increased by nearly 30% compared to the previous month.

New UX Revamp

Tada introduced a renewed user experience (UX) of the Tada app. The main screen is a representative example. By displaying only the destination input field when the app is opened, usability was enhanced to naturally lead to ride calls. A vehicle can be called with a minimum of three touches. The app remembers frequently boarded and dropped-off locations, so users no longer need to specify locations manually next time. Additionally, features such as ‘Pre-set Waypoints’ and ‘Call Reservation’ were demonstrated.

Furthermore, based on data utilization capabilities, Tada plans to improve operational efficiency. Explaining that the average empty ride rate of typical taxis remains around 40%, they stated that by analyzing data to predict demand in advance and optimizing platform calls, the empty ride rate can be improved.

Tada monitors demand changes in real-time within the Seoul area and predicts demand by day of the week, weather, time, and region to enhance operational efficiency. Through this, they have experience reducing the empty ride rate to the 10% range.

Presenting the ‘Quality Ride for All’ Vision Satisfying Both Users and Drivers

On this day, Tada introduced ‘Quality Ride for All’ as the core business philosophy to become a mobility platform satisfying both users and drivers. They plan to provide the best service unique to Tada to users and offer the best treatment to drivers who can provide such services, thereby also striving to create quality jobs.

In the long term, based on a partnership with its subsidiary ‘Pyeonanhan Idong’ (Comfortable Movement), Tada plans to discover and implement coexistence measures with drivers. To this end, they announced plans to establish the ‘Tada Partner Care Center.’ The ‘Tada Partner Care Center’ is a centralized management hub where driver operation manuals and vehicle commercialization can be handled at once.

CEO Lee said, “Our goal is to create a virtuous cycle where drivers working in comfortable conditions provide the best service to users, and users satisfied with Tada’s service repeatedly choose Tada,” adding, “Pyeonanhan Idong will be a strong partner for this goal.”

This year, Tada plans to accelerate the expansion of supply. Based on a solid partnership with Toss, they will jointly identify areas in the taxi market that require financial improvement and advance them in a positive direction.

CEO Lee stated, “Since mobility platforms have already become widespread, I believe the competition now lies in service. Through Tada Next, we will differentiate our business with top-level service and make Tada Next’s service the new mobility standard in the taxi business.”