Uber, the U.S. taxi-hailing app operator, said Tuesday it was officially launching its luxury sedan service Uber Black in Korea.
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Uber Black drivers pose with Kia’s K9 luxury sedans. Uber Korea |
The premium taxi service teams up with veteran taxi drivers with five or more years of taxi driving experience without an accident or one or more years of deluxe taxi driving experience without an accident.
Uber will provide its own service training to drivers on how to offer services that meet Uber Black’s strict global standards, the company said. The drivers will operate Kia Motors’ K9 luxury sedans as part of its partnership with the carmaker.
Users can choose “UberBlack” on the Uber app and then confirm their location and request a ride. The base fare is 8,000 won and riders get fare estimate when they provide a destination.
The service is available in major areas of Seoul for now and is expected to be extended to the entire city in the near future.
“In collaboration with the city government and taxi industry, we hope we can do our part to improve the rider experience and address taxi shortage and reliability problems in the city,” said Calvin Kan, general manager of Uber Korea.
Uber suspended its key ride-sharing service in Korea in March last year due to resistance from taxi drivers and the city government. The company has yet to announce any plans to resume the service.
By Lee Ji-yoon (
jylee@heraldcorp.com)
