The government has collected NT$37.59 million (US$1.16 million) in penalties handed down to Uber and the drivers hired by the application-based service provider, the Directorate-General of Highways said yesterday.
The directorate in September last year began cracking down on Uber and its drivers, after it was deemed to be operating illegally.
As of Wednesday, the directorate had ticketed Uber 243 times, with fines totally NT$32.75 million. The company has so far paid NT$29 million.
Drivers recruited by Uber have been ticketed 251 times, with fines totaling NT$10.87 million. The company has helped the drivers pay NT$8.59 million.
The directorate said that the company had tried to appeal its rulings at through the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ appeal commission, but to no avail. The company then decided to launch an appeal with the administrative court, where a ruling is pending.
Uber and its drivers will continue to be punished as long as the service and its drivers continue to operate illegally, the directorate said.
In related news, the directorate said that buyers of second-hand vehicles will soon be able to use a mobile phone app to check the mileage records of the vehicle for the previous five years at motor vehicle offices. The app is to be available in October.
“Buyers of used cars can check the mileage by typing in the car license number,” directorate Deputy Chief Engineer Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said, adding that mileage records of 6.3 million cars are now available.
The nation has 7.67 million registered vehicles, the directorate said.
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