With a shortage of taxis leaving many of
Effective
Provided they are under the management of a local taxi company, drivers can offer taxi services on specified days and hours. Operational details, such as the departure and arrival points as well as the fare, are pre-determined via dedicated apps for cashless payment.
In addition to the four approved zones, the transport ministry has greenlighted introducing the services to areas encompassing eight other cities --
A shortage of cabs and their scarcity during off-peak hours has become a serious enough problem across
One such city is Miura in Kanagawa Prefecture, near
The city of nearly 40,000 has two locally-based taxi companies, but one of them has had to stop offering its services after
Under the current circumstances which include the fact that Miura is included in the
About a dozen drivers have been recruited for the eight-month trials, which have been named "Kana-ride" and are aimed at stress-testing the service using five or so cars for ride-hailing services
City officials and residents alike hope the initiative will stimulate the local economy.
"This will enable people to stay longer at bars and restaurants, which for their part can extend open hours, creating wider economic benefits," Miura mayor
But a question mark hangs over the city's plans from a business perspective. Mayor Yoshida has expressed concerns about whether or not ride-sharing services will be "commercially viable," and said the city will analyze the trial data properly.
In another case, the town office of Karuizawa signed deals in February with local entities including a local taxi association and an app provider in a step toward mitigating the chronic shortage of taxis at the popular mountain resort in
In front of
The office is calling on retired officials, police officers and firefighters to become drivers because of their familiarity with the town's roads and their experience working in professions that the public has high levels of trust in.
It also wants to deploy a matching system that would mean cabs not being put to use when taxi company employees take leave could be driven by staff dispatched from other firms.
"A single policy can hardly meet a variety of demands. We would like to combine this with ride-hailing services such as the Karuizawa model,"
Against the backdrop of an uptick in inbound tourism, the prefectural government is looking to address an increase in unlicensed taxis at and around
"Means of transportation should be flexibly arranged to keep pace with social progress,"
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source