The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) yesterday said it would verify if UberTAXI is legal, adding that Uber Technologies Inc has not paid the more than NT$1 billion (US$33.1 million) in fines it accumulated while operating illegally.
Questions involving Uber and its various services reappeared at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, during which lawmakers were scheduled to review the DGH’s budget plan.
The service in February temporarily ceased local operations after the government amended the Highway Act (公路法) to raise the maximum fine for illegally operating a passenger transportation service to NT$25 million. The amendment took effect on Jan. 6.
The firm in April relaunched its ride-hailing service in Taipei by partnering with more than 100 licensed car rental operators.
It yesterday announced the official Taipei launch of UberTAXI, a service it is offering in collaboration with three taxi companies.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Po-ching (鄭寶清) asked if Uber intends to use its local partnerships as a cover-up for its illegal operations.
DGH Director-General Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯) said the agency would have to look into how UberTAXI works before determining its legality.
Meanwhile, Uber had accumulated more than NT$70 million in fines before the amendment, but has only paid about NT$60 million, the DGH said.
After the amendment took affect, the company was fined another NT$1.031 billion, none of which has been paid, it said, adding that authority over collection of the fines is to be passed to the Ministry of Justice’s Administrative Enforcement Agency.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said the ministry will not allow illegal businesses to persist, but added that cracking down on illegal taxi operators is not enough.
“We should also facilitate partnerships between taxi operators and software developers. Through market competition and crackdowns on illegal operators, consumers are more likely to choose the best taxi service available,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers asked the DGH to address a series of issues related to a freeway accident last week, in which a trailer truck on the southbound lane of National Freeway No. 3 lost control because of a flat tire, crossed over to the northbound lane and killed a family of three in a car.
The truck was not registered, had insufficient tire tread and was overloaded, Cheng said, adding that the driver was only licensed to operate small passenger cars, but was still hired by the company.
Cheng also said that the traffic divider separating the north and southbound lanes on the freeway should be higher.
The DGH has removed the truck’s license plate, as well as those of 10 other trucks owned by the company that are overdue for annual inspections, Chen said, adding that the company’s business has also been suspended.
Hochen also said the ministry would consider changing the design of the divider.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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