Many foreign tourists visit Korea due to the influence of K-pop and K-dramas but encounter difficulties when attempting to use taxis. Most Koreans utilize platforms such as Kakao Taxi to hail taxis, a method inaccessible to foreigners due to their lack of Korean mobile phone numbers and credit cards. To address this issue, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has introduced a dedicated taxi-calling app aimed at enhancing the comfort of travel for foreign tourists.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Monday the official launch of TABA, a taxi-calling mobile app exclusively designed for foreign tourists. Developed in collaboration with "ONDA," a private company offering taxi-calling services, and "Globaleur," an artificial intelligence-based startup providing real-time tourism information, TABA received technological support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government late last year and was officially launched on January 1.
Unlike existing taxi-calling service apps in Korea, which require self-authentication with domestic mobile carriers and payment through credit cards issued in Korea, the TABA app allows foreign tourists to authenticate using their phone numbers from their home countries and supports overseas credit card payments. Additional features, such as simple login and email authentication functions through social media, will be added to the app by the end of the year.
Furthermore, when tourists enter their destination, they can preview the distance and fare, taking into account real-time traffic conditions. The app offers the flexibility to choose between recommended, shortest, or toll-free routes as well as select the type of taxi, whether medium, large, or luxury.
Supported languages include English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, and Thai. Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Russian languages will be added in the first half of the next year. The app introduces approximately 200 major tourist attractions in Seoul, allowing foreign tourists to set their destination automatically by clicking the "Go Now" button at the bottom of the app. TABA is available for download on Google Play and the App Store, and to celebrate its launch, users will receive a 5 percent discount on their taxi fare when using the app for the first time.
Navigate Korea with Ease: The TABA Taxi-Calling App for International Travelers
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