Uber drivers found offering taxi services are from Sunday to be fined for contravening the Transportation Management Regulations (汽車運輸業管理規則), the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
Authorities are to start enforcing an amendment to Article 103-1 of the rules, which was announced in June, after giving Uber drivers a five-month grace period that included a two-month extension.
The amended rules stipulate that taxi and vehicle rental services are separate businesses, and that passengers using the latter must pay an hourly or daily rate.
Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei Times
While the ministry did not find Uber’s partnerships with vehicle rental businesses illegal, it said that some Uber drivers have been offering taxi services under the guise of a vehicle rental service, which is against the regulations.
From Sunday, vehicle rental operators working with Uber drivers offering taxi services would be fined NT$9,000 to NT$90,000, the ministry said.
Uber drivers who have not become legal taxi drivers may continue to provide vehicle rental services, provided that they charge customers hourly or daily rates, it said.
The ministry reiterated that the amendment was proposed to uphold its policy that all aspects of a taxi service — drivers, vehicles and service platforms — should be legal.
“We have encouraged Uber drivers to obtain business registration certificates by passing the taxi drivers’ exam. They can also work as independent contractors in taxi companies or as drivers in the diversified taxi service program,” the ministry said.
It added that it worked with the National Police Agency to increase the number of exam sessions so that more Uber drivers can obtain business certificates.
The ministry also amended other regulations, such as those that allow diversified taxi service program drivers to disclose fares in advance to passengers through a smartphone app.
There are about 12,000 Uber drivers in Taiwan, of who 7,000 to 8,000 have secured taxi business certificates, Platform Driver Alliance data showed.
However, only 2,000 to 3,000 of those with certificates have obtained taxi license plates for their vehicles in the past five months, and most operate in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, the alliance said.
Some Uber drivers have said that the transition period was too short, as it takes a long time to pass the exam and secure taxi license plates, adding that several cities and counties have not released enough taxi license plates to meet demand.
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