The government has no intention of drafting specific legislation to regulate Uber, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said yesterday, adding that it would be difficult to remove the UberEats app from mobile app stores.
Controversy over the ride-sharing app remained the focus of discussions at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday, which was scheduled to review the budget for the Institute of Transportation for fiscal 2017.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清), Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) and Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) mentioned UberEats, an app developed by Uber to deliver food from restaurants to its users’ homes, and asked what the ministry was going to do about it as Uber Taiwan is today set to unveil the details of the service.
The lawmakers said that UberEats should not be available for download if Uber continues to operate illegally in Taiwan, adding that taking down the app is the only effective solution to the problem.
UberEats plans to recruit motorcycle riders who are 19 or older, whose motorcycles are less than 15 years old and can carry items weighing 15kg, the lawmakers said, adding that it might encourage many young motorcycle riders to take a part-time Uber job.
Should the ministry fail to regulate the food delivery service, the nation would see more motorcyclists speeding or swerving in and out of traffic, they added.
Hochen said the ministry would crack down on drivers or motorcyclists working for UberEats, even though they would be carrying food rather than people.
However, he said there might be a problem if the government requests that the app be taken down from mobile app stores, which could cause there to be litigation with e-commerce operators.
The ministry is to send an official notice to Uber to address the situation, Hochen said.
He said Uber is apparently interested in expanding its market in Taiwan, but it insists on doing business its own way.
“Uber has only two ways to go, it either becomes taxi company or a taxi service operator. The latter can develop an app that matches consumers with legal taxi services. I am sure that Uber should know by now our determination to keep handing down fines if it is unwilling to become a legal operation,” Hochen said.
The bottom line is that Uber should be regulated, pay taxes and ensure that passengers are fully insured, Hochen said, but the government would not draft a tailor-made law to regulate the ride-sharing app.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
RSS