Hundreds of taxis yesterday morning drove slowly around the Executive Yuan to protest the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ (MOTC) decision to extend a grace period for Uber Technologies Inc drivers before an amendment to the transportation regulations takes effect next month.
Although changes to Article 103-1 of the Transportation Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則) were promulgated on June 6, the ministry has given Uber drivers until Oct. 6 to become licensed taxi drivers.
Of 12,000 Uber drivers, only about 2,000 of them have secured taxi driver’s licenses.
Photo: CNA
The amendment clearly said when it was to take effect, Taxi Dispatch Service Industry Development Association secretary-general Tsung Hung-i (曾弘義) said, adding that the ministry should comply with the law.
The ministry should not disregard the law, breaking its promise, just to accommodate the needs of one company, Tseng said.
The government risks losing the public’s trust if it does so, Tseng said.
“They [Uber drivers] have been given four months to register for the license exams, but they didn’t want to. Instead, they waited until the last month to say that they don’t have enough time to finish all the exams. If the ministry is using this reason to give illegal taxi operators more time, doesn’t that mean that the drivers could use the same justification to extend their illegal operations? The ministry should hold the exams more frequently instead of postponing when the amendment takes effect,” Tseng said.
The Ministry of the Interior has increased the frequency of the exams by adding 25 additional test dates, 17 of which are to held before the end of this month, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said, adding that, together, the test dates could accommodate 10,000 examinees.
The Uber drivers need time to secure commercial vehicle licenses and handle car loan issues, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.
“If the policy is heading in the right direction, we should allow a bit more time so that all Uber drivers can take the license exam,” he said, adding that the ministry has also agreed to increase the number of examinees accepted for each test date.
The MOTC is complying with the law, even if it extends the grace period for Uber drivers, as the measure was implemented to establish orderly competition in the market, Lin said.
“The goal of competition is to provide passengers the best possible service. It has taken the country a long time to find ways to regulate Uber and its drivers, and to raise the quality of taxi services. Uber drivers and taxi drivers should allow each other some time so that they can both survive,” Lin added.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source