Jang Seob Yoon
Research expert covering South Korea
Mobility solutions in South Korea - statistics and facts
While alternative mobility solutions are not quite the novelty that they were a few years ago, such methods of transport have carved out their place in the market. Apart from traditional modes of public transport, various companies provide car-sharing or ride-hailing services to the public. Additionally, local governments, as well as those in the private sector, offer rental services for bicycles or Personal Mobility Devices (PMD).
The South Korean car sharing market
The domestic car sharing market has recorded impressive growth over the years. Spearheaded by the duo of Socar and Green Car, car sharing has become an attraction option for renting cars among customers. Convenience and accessibility have been the main themes behind this behavior according to survey results. Another tactic deployed by companies is to include newer vehicle models in their fleet, which are often equipped with advanced functions that are proving to be useful to drivers.Ride hailing in South Korea
The ride hailing scene in South Korea is led by the Kakao T smartphone app and is part of the domestic tech giant Kakao Corporation’s product portfolio. The emergence of this service is perceived to have had a positive impact overall among users. However, the general opinion regarding ride prices is that they are too high. When ride hailing companies started to experiment with tipping functions, it was met with clear opposition from consumers.Last mile mobility
Local governments across the country offer stations from which users can access public bikes in South Korea. Nubija, which is the name of the public bike service in the province of Gyeongnam, is a popular choice of transport among local citizens, just like Seoul Bike in the nation’s capital. On the other hand, shared PMDs have become a cause for concern in recent times, with accidents involving such devices becoming more commonplace.
