Transport ministry proposes cut in taxi numbers to improve driver wages

Friday 04th July, 06:36 AM JST

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3 Comments

tkoind2 at 12:35 PM JST - 4th July

Supply and demand people. People want taxis on demand. That means having a lot of them. Thus the high numbers. Taking them away will just leave people waiting and waste time. Another idiotic proposal from this already pointless current government.

Why don't you guys work on something that can really help people? I mean what are tax payers paying you for?!?
RepublicofTexas at 12:41 PM JST - 4th July

If you go to Kyoto you learn that there a too many taxi drivers. In Tokyo on the other hand it seems like there aren't enough. I was talking to a taxi driver in Kyoto and apparently many drivers just sit outside the train station for hours b/c once you've worked w/ the taxi company for a certain amount of time you receive a higher paycheck so little incentive to work. I think they should reform the pay system and redistribute the taxis.
Piglet at 03:18 PM JST - 4th July

I also think taxi drivers are not enough "agressive" in their business practice. Many taxi drivers prefer to wait in line for hours (have you been in front of some big stations, especially in the surburbs?) than moving around and pick up people in the street. It's probably a management problem for taxi companies. Only a handful of companies use GPS-based computerized taxi management (dynamic allocation of taxis according to local demand, computation of best routes for maximizing passenger load, etc...). A higher portion of paycheck should be dependant on performance. Taxi companies should also hire younger drivers, in addition to older ones. Like many other Japanese businesses, many problems result from the local corporate culture, which values efficiency and cost-cutting less than hierarchy and social order.