Proposing legal revisions to increase fines against Uber Taiwan should not be an excuse to avoid revoking the firm’s investment license, taxi association representatives said yesterday.
The Executive Yuan’s policy coordination committee on Sunday reportedly approved an amendment to the Highway Act (公路法) that would increase fines faced by the ride-sharing app to between NT$100,000 and NT$25 million (US$3,167 and US$791,640) per violation if passed by the Legislative Yuan, up from the current range of NT$50,000 to NT$150,000.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission put consideration of withdrawing the firm’s investment license on hold in August, pending the implementation of government reforms aimed at forcing Uber drivers to apply for business licenses.
“Fundamentally, you still have to force [Uber] to withdraw its investment, because it is investing in something illegal,” Taiwan Taxi Transportation Federation director-general Chen Deng (陳燈) said, adding that he welcomed the proposal to increase fines.
“Revising the law to increase fines is necessary,” Chen said. “It is illegal for personal vehicles to operate as taxis, but if all you fine the firm is several tens of thousands of New Taiwan Dollars, there is nothing for it to be afraid of.”
Proposals to revise the Highway Act came after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications last week announced plans to launch a “diversified taxi system” by the end of the year, relaxing regulations on fees, car models and taxi appearance as part of plans to help the industry adapt and compete.
“Diversification plans should be acceptable,” Chen said, adding that there were still important ongoing discussions on issues such as fee rates.
“The guiding principle should be that the total number of taxi licenses is not increased,” he said, adding that the government could assign unused licenses to the new fleet.
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