About 3,000 private car owners are working for ride-sharing app Uber, even though its business remains illegal, a Ministry of Transportation and Communications official said.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei on Thursday, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Fan Chih-ku (范植谷) said the ministry has intensified its crackdown on the service.
Uber, a multinational company based in San Francisco, began offering its services in Taiwan three years ago, but has so far failed to secure its status as a legal business.
Uber has not registered as a transportation services provider, although the ministry has had many communications with the company, which calls itself a communication services provider, Fan told lawmakers, adding that the ministry is determined to crack down on the company.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet said Uber is not welcome in Taiwan, as it has never paid taxes and all of its transactions are processed overseas.
The ministry has imposed heavy penalties on drivers who use private cars to carry passengers or deliver items for profit.
The fine for a first-time offender driving a private car seating nine or fewer passengers or a truck weighing 3,500kg or less is NT$50,000, while the vehicle’s license is suspended for two months.
The fines for the second, third and fourth offenses have been raised to NT$60,000, NT$70,000 and NT$80,000 respectively. License suspensions remain at three, four and six months respectively.
In January, the ministry said it is planning to allow certain taxis to be booked by passengers in advance, but these vehicles would not be able to pick up people hailing them from the street.
The service is a direct challenge to Uber, the ministry said.
Since September 2014, Uber has been fined more than NT$49 million (US$1.5 million) for violating the Highway Act (公路法), which bans unlicensed operators of transportation services. Those fines are separate from those imposed on the drivers working for Uber.
Uber has paid the fines, but it is challenging them in court. The case is waiting to be heard by the Supreme Administrative Court.
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