Taxi driver › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

REUTERS

Tuesday 25th August, 04:28 AM JST

A taxi driver polishes his vehicle while waiting for customers with others at a taxi stand in front of a train station in Tokyo.

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Latest 15 of 35 Total Comments Show All

chuckers at 02:06 PM JST - 25th August

Altria:

why are taxis the only vehicles in this country without a navigation system?

Ummm...What? When was the last time you were in a taxi? I personally can't remember being in a taxi recently that did NOT have a navigation system.
Jizzeez at 02:10 PM JST - 25th August

There are way too many taxis in Tokyo, causing traffic jams and air pollution. You can literally put your hand out and get a taxi anywhere at any time in central Tokyo. That can't be good for the environment. How about forcing the companies to switch to Prius instead of crappy dated Crowns. Then again if the subway ran all night... But think how many more unemployed people there would be.... oh, I get it.
rajakumar at 02:11 PM JST - 25th August

Japan's taxi service may not over best service but better than many nations of world via the cleanliness and safe cab vehicles.

A country is as good as its cab vehicles.
chuckers at 02:13 PM JST - 25th August

They had to lower their fares recently in order to attract customers

Ummm...taxi fares have INCREASED over recent years. Things are tough all over.

When companies started restructuring, the old guys needed to find work. Taxi driving was probably the easiest thing they could do which didn't require a lot of retraining. However, it meant a flood of inexperienced people driving around areas they didn't know trying to make a few yen in order to feed their families.

Time was, a taxi driver could find anywhere with only a minimum amount of an address and be able to find every back road and narrow alleyway to get to it. Now, not so much.
sicklittlemonkey at 04:15 PM JST - 25th August

They're ok for the most part, but I don't like it when "kojin" drive away when a gaijin walks towards the cab.
dishdash at 04:24 PM JST - 25th August

keep waiting and polishing my friend....
lostrune2 at 06:28 PM JST - 25th August

That's weird where the side mirrors are....
zoechan at 08:44 PM JST - 25th August

slicklittlemonkey: They're ok for the most part, but I don't like it when "kojin" drive away when a gaijin walks towards the cab.

my favourite part of the japanese taxi experience is not being allowed to jump into the closest taxi... ah, the taxis are in a queue, i see... let's refuse a fare and make the customer walk 100 metres to the front of the queue whilst i wax my car. guy logic or japanese logic?!
GW at 08:49 PM JST - 25th August

The whole taxi industry if frigged up here, totally daft, sure the cabs are clean, drivers ok for the most part.BUT I AM SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THEM COMPLAINING BECAUSE THEY DONT MAKE MUCH!!!

Duh, the companies are allowed to pay the drivers based on what they bring in so the COMPANIES flood the streets with cabs, THE COMPANIES dont care about the drivers & we get..........welcome to NOW.

If the govt made the cab companies pay their drivers a salary then we wud start seeing some changes, some for the better some for worse but I am sick of hearing about stupid cabbies complaining they dont make enough $$$ DOH!
Foxie at 11:17 PM JST - 25th August

The government is to blame for flooding the streets with cabs. The drivers only get 45% of their fares which isn't much. A few months ago, many taxi companies lowered their fares to stay competitive, mainly because of MK.
larguero at 11:36 PM JST - 25th August

The taxis in Hiroshima are quite good: taxi drivers are helpful, the car is clean and they do the small things that make the difference: help you with the luggage, wait for you with the door opened, not speak on the phone nor see tv while driving, etc. I think Tokyo's traffic must make you crazy after a couple of years. But driving here is generally a nice experience...
JohnBecker at 01:17 AM JST - 26th August

@zoechan: it's called a taxi stand. You take the taxi at the front of the line, otherwise there would be chaos among the drivers.

@fusedentropy: Tipping has always been part of the deal in U.S. taxis. Not customary in Japan, very customary in the States. If you feel ripped off, ride a bike instead.

Tokyo taxis: good! quick and easy from TCAT or Tokyo Station to the hotel, which the drivers found on GPS.

Himeji taxis: no GPS, the driver couldn't find the hotel, which was only 5 blocks from the station. He got lost and actually turned off the meter.
shawnth at 01:44 AM JST - 26th August

Coming from the perspective of somebody that drives frequently, taxis are such a pain. They stop where ever the hell they want to when picking up/kicking out a passenger which means they frequently block traffic. All too often a friggen taxi cuts me so short I have to brake hard to avoid hitting their cheap ass crowns. The only thing worse are the pedestrians who like walking in the middle of the street and the dumb ass cyclists who ride against traffic.
XXXXX at 04:34 AM JST - 26th August

gotta love the white gloves. do they still wear them?
Kwaabish at 03:25 PM JST - 26th August

XXXXX,

Most of them do. That's another thing. Japanese cabbies are well dressed. US cabbies look disheveled (during the summertime, torn t-shirt, shorts and sandals), talk endlessly on their cell phones during their fare and usually stink of BO.