The Directorate-General of Highways yesterday issued 12 fines to Uber Taiwan and motorcyclists working for its food delivery service UberEats, with the penalties on the first day of the service topping NT$600,000 (US$18,826).
The company violated article 77 of the Highway Act (公路法), the DGH said, adding that each contravention is liable to a penalty of between NT$50,000 and NT$150,000.
Motorcyclists working as couriers for UberEats could see their licenses suspended for between two and six months, the directorate said.
The directorate said that it launched the crackdown on Uber motorcyclists between 11am and 2pm yesterday at restaurants listed by the app, adding that it would continue to pursue delivery drivers so long as Uber is provideing the service illegally.
The launch of UberEats has disrupted the market order and affected the businesses of legal operators, the directorate said.
UberEats users do not have to pay for delivery costs during the service’s promotional phase, and there is no minimum order, the company said, adding that UberEats would deliver to a customer who orders only one bubble tea.
To address the issue, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said a proposal to amend the Highway Act to increase the punishments on illegal taxi operators is to be deliberated at the Legislative Yuan on Nov. 28.
The amendment, proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party caucus, would increase the possible fines from the current NT$50,000 to NT$150,000 to NT$100,000 to NT$25 million.
The amendment would also allow members of the public to claim financial rewards for helping the government clamp down on Uber drivers.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a statement that it would ask the Ministry of Health and Welfare to look into how the food is delivered by UberEats, adding that the eateries should be held accountable if they compromise the safety of the deliveries by failing to follow due procedures and or by working with illegal delivery service providers.
The transportation ministry said that it would also send an official notice to Apple Inc and Google Inc, the developers of the iOS and Android operating systems respectively, asking them to remove apps that are being used by consumersto engage in illegal activities.
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash