Anchor: South Korea is going to allow taxi sharing by unrelated multiple passengers traveling to similar destinations. The government on Thursday announced deregulation measures, approving a taxi sharing app.
Moon Gwang-lip has more. 

Report: The taxi sharing smartphone app will allow two unrelated passengers to share the same cab if their routes are more than 70 percent identical.

The passengers will each pay three-thousand won, or around two-point-five dollar, in call fees, in addition to splitting their fare.

The pilot taxi sharing program will operate only at night between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. 

The cab sharing was among several deregulation measures approved by the Ministry of Science and ICT, whose new tech review committee held its session on Thursday.

Cab sharing has been banned in Korea since 1982. 

The measure is expected to at least partially resolve the lack of cabs late at night, and also increase cab drivers' incomes. 

The pilot program will only be carried out in 12 out of 25 districts in the capital city, including Gangnam, Seocho, Jongno, Mapo and Yongsan. 

The plan was also reviewed during the previous committee meeting in May, but rejected in the face of opposition from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul Metropolitan Government. 

The committee has also decided to allow a kitchen sharing service to ease burdens on food-related startups. 
Moon Gwang-lip, KBS World Radio News.