《TAIPEI TIMES》Taxi union proposes Taipei fare hikes

By Cheng Wei-chi and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Taipei City Commercial Taxi Union has proposed raising fares, citing rising costs, the Taipei Public Transportation Office said yesterday.

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The union has proposed increasing the base fare from NT$70 to NT$100, the office said.

It wants to shorten the duration between surcharges on the meter when a taxi idles from NT$5 every 80 seconds to NT$5 every 60 seconds, the office added.

The union also proposed a surcharge of NT$50 when transporting passengers on typhoon days, General Transportation Division Director-General Hung Yu-min （洪瑜敏） said.

The office said it would discuss the proposed price hikes in a committee comprising Ministry of Transportation and Communications officials, the Consumer Foundation, experts and union representatives.

Taxi fares were previously adjusted in 2015, Hung said, adding that costs have significantly increased since then.

Hung said that the committee might not accept all of the proposed changes and approved changes would take effect three months after they are announced.

The committee would decide the amount of fare taxi drivers can charge during inclement weather, such as typhoons, Hung said.

Union president Liang Ping-liang （梁平良） said rising inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic have greatly affected the profit margins of taxi drivers.

The union proposed the changes in March, but the office failed to respond until now, he added.

Hung said the office in the interim communicated with the New Taipei City and Keelung governments to confirm whether they had received similar proposals, Hung said.

Republic of China Commercial Transportation Driver’s Union president Cheng Li-chia （鄭力嘉） said the base fare of NT$70 is not enough to buy even a lunchbox.

“We are aware that the government will not likely approve the figures we are proposing, but regardless, it should convene a meeting as soon as possible,” Cheng said.

There were 91,426 registered taxis nationwide as of December last year, down 472, or 0.5 percent, from a year earlier, ministry data showed.

Last year, taxi drivers’ average gross monthly income totaled NT$41,771, excluding government stipends, down 8.3 percent, or NT$3,797, from 2019, while their average net monthly income was down 14 percent, or NT$3,587.

Taxi drivers in established fleets earned 34.8 percent, or NT$6,562, more than individual cab drivers, the data showed.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES