Taxi companies questioned the feasibility of allowing Uber to serve people living in the nation’s remote areas that lack public transportation services, saying it does not change that it is an illegal operator that might not adequately protect the rights of the passengers.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) delivered the proposal after Uber director of public policy for the Asia-Pacific region Damian Kassabgi met with MOTC Minister Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) on Friday.
Uber reportedly expressed its concern over penalties for illegal taxi operators, who face fines up to NT$25 million (US$781,150) following an amendment to the Highway Act (公路法) that took effect earlier this month.
The ministry issued a statement following the meeting between Hochen and Kassabgi, saying its position on Uber remains unchanged that it must be regulated by the government.
Uber must also pay revenue tax and insure its passengers, the ministry said.
The ministry said that it does not find it reasonable to allow individual drivers to use their own cars to provide for-profit ride-sharing service in metropolitan areas, because public transportation systems have already been established in these areas.
“We could study the feasibility of using the ride-sharing service model developed by Uber in remote areas, where public transport is inadequate in meeting the needs of the people, so long as the company expresses an interest in doing so,” the ministry said, adding that Uber could help reduce the costs of operating public transport systems in remote areas.
Japan has permitted a ride-sharing service using private cars in Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture, which does not have sufficient public transport services to meet the demands of local residents, the ministry said, adding that Uber could provide the ministry with similar examples for reference.
Taipei City Professional Drivers’ Union president Cheng Li-chia (鄭力嘉) said the first question is how the ministry defines “remote areas.”
“In Japan, they use licensed taxi drivers and vehicles registered to offer taxi services in the ride-sharing service. Uber, on the other hand, does not subject itself to any government regulation,” he said.
Cheng said that Kaohsiung has already used taxis in its public transport system in remote areas, as large passenger buses are unable to operate on some of the roads.
“Uber is considered an illegal operator when it offers service in Taipei, but does it become a legal operator if it offers rides to people in Hualien? How do you make sure that the rights of the passengers and legal taxi operators in Hualien are protected? I find the ministry’s logic baffling,” he said. “The bottom line is whether Uber is willing to serve people in remote areas. Does it really want to go there?”
Cheng said its union is holding a news conference today to expose the “lies” that Uber has been telling to the public.
Cheng said that Uber told people that they would be sued if they report Uber to the highway authority.
They also falsely assured Uber drivers that they can become licensed taxi drivers as long as they obtain the license for a rental car and a license of a professional driver, he said.
The Directorate-General of Highways said a legal taxi driver must have a practicing registration, in addition to a valid license of a professional driver, adding that the car they drive must be registered to offer taxi services.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard