The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said this week that mobile-app-based ridesharing service Uber should stop its “outrageous behavior challenging the government’s authority” in Taiwan, adding that it would continue cracking down on Uber drivers if the firm continues to operate illegally.
The ministry said that earlier this week it received more than 600 e-mails from individuals alleging to be supporters of the Uber service.
The subject lines of the e-mails varied slightly, but the content of each was exactly the same, it added.
The ministry said it was told by sources that Uber sent the e-mails using the addresses of its registered users, adding that these fake e-mails were meant to paralyze the government’s e-mail accounts.
The ministry also said that the action was an act of public defiance of governmental authority and could constitute a crime, adding that it is considering taking legal action against the company.
“We ask Uber to cooperate with the Taiwanese government in the investigation. The company should also inform its management in Taiwan to terminate actions that challenge the authority of the government,” the ministry said.
The ministry reiterated that it has never opposed how Uber has applied technology to the transportation industry or any of the benefits the firm said might emerge from such an application.
However, Uber still has no intention of applying to become a legal transport business operator, the ministry said.
While Uber has claimed that it has a stricter screening process to select drivers qualified to offer transportation services, the ministry said that was not case.
“The Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act ( 道路交通管理處罰條例) says that any person convicted of criminal acts stated in Article 37 of the act, such as homicide, robbery or pillaging, will be prohibited from applying for a taxi driver business registration. Even though Uber said that the drivers it hires all have proof that they have no criminal record, those records would not show convicted criminals who are on reprieve or paying fines instead of spending time in jail. The company’s screening process is not superior to the nation’s standards for qualified taxi drivers,” the ministry said.
In response, Uber denied that it launched the e-mail onslaught, adding that the e-mails were all sent voluntarily by Uber users and drivers getting assignments from it.
It further asked the ministry to listen to the public.
The company has so far racked up NT$8.25 million (US$260,600) in general fines and NT$3.75 million for allowing drivers without a commercial driver’s license to operate in the transportation industry.
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