The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to develop measures to help people planning to operate non-traditional taxis to avoid breaking an amended law dubbed the “Uber clause.”
After a four-month grace period that is to end next month, those found to be operating a taxi-like business without authorization face fines of NT$9,000 to NT$90,000, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday.
The ministry is to extend the grace period for those unable to obtain permits in time under a multipurpose taxi service program that was initiated by the government primarily to encourage Uber and Uber-like services to adhere to the law, Lin said.
Many drivers have taken the multipurpose taxi driver exam, which began in June, to obtain a commercial driver’s license, Lin said, adding that within six months the number could be 10,000.
The ministry defines a multipurpose taxi as a service in which the driver is not legally required to use a yellow taxi. The fares are metered, but passengers interact with drivers primarily via an app.
An amendment to Article 103-1 of the Transportation Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則), which took effect on June 6, bans taxi services offered through partnerships with vehicle rental agencies, as Uber has done.
Lin’s remarks came after dozens of affected drivers rallied in front of the ministry earlier the day, demanding that the government postpone the implementation of the amendments.
The Uber clause should be suspended until issues such as acquiring permits, financial assistance and insurance registration are resolved, said Lee Wei-er (李威爾), a spokesperson for a self-help association of drivers.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
RSS