Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies will relaunch a premium taxi service in South Korea's capital this year, hoping to revamp its brand in Asia's fourth-largest economy after running foul of regulators.
The UberBLACK service was being relaunched after the South Korean government eased regulations to pave the way for high-end taxi services, the US company said.
Parliament earlier this year banned services like UberX, which match customers with private drivers who do not have a commercial taxi licence.
Uber had since been offering two services in South Korea: uberTaxi, which matches users with licensed taxi drivers, and the upscale UberBLACK service.
UberBLACK was limited to a small group of qualifying passengers, including those with disabilities and foreigners, until Uber suspended it this week to get it ready for the general public.
The new premium service in Seoul will only involve commercially licensed drivers, Uber said.
Drivers for Uber's new service will get discounts on Kia Motors' K9 sedans as part of an agreement between the carmaker and Uber.
Uber SA yesterday announced it and WesBank will offer existing driver-partners access to a specially designed full maintenance lease programme, giving them access to a vehicle at preferential rates. The initiative is valued at over R200 million.
GrabTaxi plans carpooling
Meanwhile, ride-hailing app GrabTaxi, which competes with Uber in southeast Asia, plans to launch a carpooling service in Singapore, one of the most expensive cities in the world to own a car.
"GrabHitch hits the sweet spot for people who want a door-to-door transport service, but prefer not to pay a premium above public train or bus fares," Tan Hooi Ling, co-founder of GrabTaxi, said in a statement.
Singapore, which levies high taxes on car owners, introduced rules for carpooling earlier this year, which allow the driver to accept compensation, either monetary or in kind, from the passenger but not for profit.
GrabHitch, which will be launched to all consumers in Singapore by end-2015, will compete with existing services and Web sites, such as Ryde and Tripda.
GrabTaxi, which counts Japanese telecoms firm SoftBank, China Investment Corporation, and a unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings as shareholders, has raised about $700 million since it was launched in 2012.
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