'Kakao T' Now Available in Guam

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kakao Mobility announced on the 17th that it has signed a business agreement for 'local transportation service collaboration in Guam' with Mikki Taxi Service, one of Guam's largest taxi brands.

Mikki Taxi is one of the major taxi brands in Guam, operating services with about 40% of all taxis in Guam as of 2020. It currently provides taxi reservation services and rental car services to tourists and locals in Guam.

Guam is a region with many short-distance trips within the area between the airport, accommodations, and tourist sites, but it faces difficulties in transportation due to a lack of local mobility platform infrastructure. Shuttle buses or rental cars operated by hotels, shopping centers, and travel agencies are difficult to use for short periods at desired times, and taxi services require reservations by phone or text after explaining pick-up and drop-off locations.

Accordingly, Kakao Mobility plans to concretize comprehensive mobility business cooperation based on ICT technology through the agreement with Mikki Taxi. By applying the advanced Kakao T platform to the Guam mobility market, they aim to enhance the convenience of movement for tourists and contribute to increasing the income of local drivers by securing transportation demand.

The two companies plan to launch a local taxi reservation service through 'Kakao T' within the third quarter of this year and operate platform-based taxi services by providing infrastructure such as the driver app 'Kakao T Picker' used by local drivers and the 'Control Program' for partner companies.

Korean tourists visiting Guam will be able to use various forms of mobility services, including real-time taxi reservation services and airport pick-up reservation services.

Vice President Ahn Gyu-jin, Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Kakao Mobility, said, "Guam is a place where tourists gather in numbers more than ten times the local population, and it is one of the markets expected to see explosive growth in floating population in line with the recent global endemic trend. Based on the experience of operating services in Guam, we will strive to provide advanced platform services in wider overseas markets in the future."