The transportation ministry says that it will loosen rules on the color of taxis and the way taxi drivers charge customers starting in May. Transportation officials said Saturday that the ministry has been considering changes to the rules since last year.
The ministry said that looser controls will allow for more flexibility at a time when licensed taxi drivers face competition from mobile apps like Uber.
According to the transportation ministry‘s proposal to the Cabinet, taxis will be divided into two categories beginning in May. One is regular taxis, which will have to keep their traditional yellow color. The other category will be reserved taxis. The color of these taxis will be left for the drivers or companies that own them to decide. Reserved taxis will be able to charge double the fares of regular taxis, but will not be allowed to take passengers who have not made a reservation in advance.
The ministry says that there are currently around 80,000 taxis in Taiwan, with about 50,000 of them in the Taipei area alone. The ministry says it hopes that at least 10% of taxis will be reserved taxis in the future.