TMAP joins Joby Aviation and SK Telecom to help bring air taxi services to South Korea
South Korea’s largest mobility platform, TMAP, will join Joby’s partnership with Korea’s leading telecommunications company, SK Telecom, to bring emissions-free aerial ride-sharing services to the country.
TMAP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK Square, a separate publicly traded company that forms part of the SK Group. TMAP holds transportation and mapping data gathered over the last 20 years, which will inform the partners of optimal air taxi routes and infrastructure networks to suit the preferences of Korean consumers.
It also jointly owns the on-demand ride-hailing app UT along with Uber, a Joby partner since 2019, to enable multi-mode journeys to integrate both ground and air travel.
Justin Lang, head of partnerships and corporate strategy at Joby, said: “TMAP’s deep knowledge and understanding of mobility needs across Korea, along with millions of daily users across Korea, makes them a great partner to bring our aerial ridesharing service to customers.
“South Korea is a remarkable opportunity for our aircraft, and working with SKT and TMAP will deliver a service that is clean, quiet, and affordable.”
In February, Joby and SK Telecom previously announced an agreement to introduce aerial ridesharing in support of the Korean Urban Air Mobility Roadmap of the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
Lee Jong Ho, CEO of TMAP Mobility, added: “By cooperating with Joby, TMAP will become a platform operator that can offer a transportation service between the ground and the sky.”
While Joby’s aerial ridesharing service will be operated directly by the company and offered to passengers by the Joby app or Uber app in core US markets, this announcement reflects Joby’s strategy to partner with local companies to launch its service in international markets.
With a maximum range of 241 km, a top speed of 321 km/h, and low noise to allow it to access urban areas, Joby’s piloted eVTOL aircraft is designed for convenient, emissions-free air travel.
In November 2021, Mobius.Energy, MintAir, Skyworks Aeronautics, Lotte Rental and Lotte Corporation established a consortium to help launch eVTOL aircraft services in the city of Incheon, South Korea.