What happens when you are stuck somewhere and need a quick transportation service that would take you wherever you want immediately? Well normally you would be trying to grab a taxi on the street by raising your hand and waving all day with no result (except a sore shoulder) or calling a private transportation service. Companies like UBER can offer a good alternative to taxis in countries where they are too expensive, but you can find local services in Korea! Korean taxis are quick and cheap, they will be your favourite transportation mode whenever you do not want to use Korea's amazing public transports. Well we would like to recommend the must-have application used by everyone in Korea: Kakao Taxi.
This app supports English and it got an intuitive interface. You don’t have to speak a single word to the taxi driver about where you wish to go and spending time to understand each other. Call a taxi, choose the right payment method, ride on, and pay upon arrival; that’s it!
However, that is not the main reason we’re strongly recommending this app. Taxis can be little tricksters in some countries. They would take a detour or longer route to purposely travel more distance to pump up their fare when they transport a non-local or a tourist. That’s unfortunately quite common and kind of inevitable, but with Kakao Taxi you can put your mind at ease! It prevents you from getting ripped off by showing you the route the taxi will take and estimating the fare for the trip before you accept it! Upon acceptance, you will get the driver’s information, and you will be able to track the route you are taking in real time.
Download the Kakao T app.
Open the app, and choose the Taxi.
Enter your location and the address you wish to go to.
Upon entering your location and destination, you will see a list of vehicles available in the area. You get many different vehicles depending on your needs, if you want a comfortable seat you can use the premium "Black" option, if you prefer a cheap taxi you can use a “General Request” one.
Select your favorite one and hit “Select Payment Method”, a small window with available payment options will pop up.
You can either pay online or directly to the driver. However, to pay online you must have a Korean bank account, but worry not, you can just swipe right for the second option “Pay to the driver”, and click “Apply.” Note: Pay the driver: option is only available for black or general taxi.
This should appear on the end screen. Click on “Request” to call for a taxi! After a successful call, you will see a page with a car plate written on top of the screen. Just wait at your current location, and get in the car when it arrives. Make sure to double check the licence number as busy locations are often crowded with taxis and you wouldn't want to get in the wrong one!
You will have to pay the driver upon arriving at your destination by cash or credit card.
Extra information
The basic fare for taxis is 3,800 KRW and it goes up to 4,600 KRW at late night (usually starting from 11pm).
You will also notice that fares work with a rounding system, if the fare is 4,040 KRW, you will only have pay 4,000 KRW. And if it is at 4,050 KRW, you will have to pay 4,100 KRW. Keep that in mind to avoid being overcharged.
