Hundreds of Uber drivers yesterday offered free rides to passengers to show their support for ride-sharing services and protest amendments to the Highway Act (公路法) that went into effect on Friday last week.
The free ride-sharing service was launched yesterday by an Uber driver named Su Wei (蘇偉).
He said the one-day free service was a voluntary campaign organized by Uber drivers.
For the campaign to work, passengers would be told that the service was free for one day and be asked to cancel their service requests on the Uber application, he said.
Drivers participating in the campaign would also cancel the assignment on the application and take the passengers to their travel destinations, he said.
Some Uber drivers spoke out against the government’s policy to crack down on Uber.
One was quoted by the Chinese-language Apple Daily as saying that many ride-sharing drivers look at what they do as a second job.
Drivers not only have to pay a fine, but their driver’s license and registration can be suspended for four months if they are found breaching the act.
The cost of having a driver’s license suspended is more than the cost of the fine, he said, adding that the government is pitting Uber and taxi drivers against each other by setting such strict punishments.
Another Uber driver, who asked to be identified as Louis, said that by working as an Uber driver at night he can make an additional NT$8,000 to NT$10,000 (US$250 to US$313) per month to supplement his salary.
“Uber helps create jobs for people who need to take care of older people or those wanting to earn some extra cash,” he said.
The revised penalties are frightening many drivers, he said, adding that he does not think Uber should leave Taiwan.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Uber drivers would not be in breach of the act if they do not charge customers.
If Uber and its drivers comply with government regulations on taxi services and its drivers are certified, they would not incur the harsh penalties, the ministry added.
The Directorate-General of Highways on Saturday recorded 18 alleged contraventions of the act and the authority is to issue at least 22 citations.
The amendments raised the maximum fine for illegal taxi service operators from NT$150,000 to NT$25 million, with a minimum fine of NT$1 million.
Ride-sharing service drivers face a minimum fine of NT$100,000 and maximum of NT$200,000.
The collected penalties are to be used to reward people who report violations to the highway authority, with the reward for each person capped at NT$300,000 per year.
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