Drivers joining a diversified taxi service program generally earn more money and have a low taxi vacancy rate, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed.
The ministry launched the program in October 2016 to help give Taiwanese taxi drivers a competitive edge against Uber and other ride-hailing platform operators.
Drivers joining the program must not drive a yellow vehicle, and unlike regular cab drivers, they are not allowed to pick up passengers from the roadside, but can accept bookings from a diversified taxi service platform or an application.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Passengers of a diversified taxi service can see the estimated fare in advance and pay using electronic payment platforms.
As of last year, the nation had 91,426 registered taxis, down from 91,898 in 2019, and the number of taxis in the diversified taxi program rose from 8,683 in 2019 to 17,878 last year, the biannual survey showed.
About 58 percent of diversified taxis operated in Taipei and New Taipei City, survey data showed.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average monthly revenue of a full-time taxi driver dropped from NT$45,568 in 2019 to NT$41,771 last year. They took an average of 4.4 days off per month last year, up from 3.9 days in 2019. Last year, taxis ran an average of 11.3 trips per day, down from 11.9 in 2019, it said.
However, a full-time diversified taxi driver last year earned an average of NT$49,498 per month and had an average net income of NT$28,260, the survey showed.
Last year, diversified taxi drivers took an average of 4.6 days off per month and ran 13.2 trips per day. Although diversified and regular taxi drivers worked about the same number of hours per day last year, diversified taxi drivers had a lower vehicle vacancy rate in terms of time and distance, the survey showed.
Regular taxi drivers worked an average of 9.4 hours per day, during which the vehicle was vacant for an average of three hours, while diversified taxi drivers worked 9.3 hours per day and had a vacant vehicle for 2.7 hours, the survey showed.
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