This study addresses the challenges faced by elderly individuals in accessing transportation services, particularly in the context of Korea’s transition to a super-aged society. Despite government efforts, insufficient transportation alternatives and digital literacy pose significant hurdles for elderly users, aggravating their transportation vulnerability. To tackle these issues, this study aims to identify the needs of elderly users regarding taxi-hailing mobile apps, design an elderly-friendly user interface (UI), and demonstrate its superior usability compared to an existing app. A preliminary survey and interviews with 20 elderly participants were conducted to gather demographic information and assess challenges with existing taxi-hailing apps. Based on these findings, a UI of a new elderly-friendly app named DuriTaxi was developed and compared with the market-dominating app (Kakao T) in usability tests among 20 elderly users. The results indicate that DuriTaxi outperformed Kakao T in all usability evaluation items, providing clearer text and image sizes, improved color perception and overall consistency. The findings highlighted the importance of intuitive UI design and font readability for elderly users, with DuriTaxi receiving positive feedback for addressing these issues. The study emphasized the need to consider elderly users’ prior experience and preferences when introducing new technologies. The study underscores the importance of improving technology acceptance and usability among elderly users by prioritizing intuitiveness, readability, and familiarity with existing technologies. These insights can inform the development of taxi-hailing apps to better meet the requirements of elderly users.