The Fair Trade Commission yesterday fined Uber NT$1 million (US$30,825), saying that the ride-sharing service provider misled private drivers offering its service in Taiwan into believing the service was legal.
It is the first fine the nation’s competition watchdog issued the US-based company, after the commission finished one year of investigations, the commission said.
The penalty is high compared with other companies that have been punished for false advertising, based on the commission’s records.
“Uber did not provide sufficient information in its advertisement. Private drivers were not informed that they had to get a permit to legally offer ride-sharing services in Taiwan,” commission Vice Chairman Chiu Yung-ho (邱永和) said on the telephone.
In the advertisement, Uber only said private drivers can earn an extra NT$10,000 a week by offering Uber services using their private vehicle, Chiu said.
Uber has breached fair trade rules by running false advertisements, the commission said.
Given the appeal of the advertisements, the company was able to recruit non-professional drivers to expand its fleet and create unfair competition between licensed taxi drivers and Uber drivers, Chiu said.
Taiwan has about 80,000 licensed taxi drivers, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
The government has banned Uber services. following in the footsteps of other countries, such as France and Germany.
Non-professional drivers offering ride-sharing services can be fined up to NT$150,000 and have their driver’s license suspended for up to six months according to the Highway Act (公路法).
Uber was established in Taiwan in 2013 and its drivers have been fined repeatedly by the ministry for providing illegal taxi services.
The company’s accumulated fines have reached NT$59.81 million, including NT$43.7 million handed down to the company and NT$16.11 million to its drivers, Directorate-General of Highways statistics show.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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