13:31 JST, May 11, 2024
TOKYO – Taxi services, which have been allowed to operate in Tokyo and some other areas in Japan since April, have so far been more widely used than traditional taxis, a Transport Ministry report showed Friday.
As of Sunday, rideshare services, which use personal vehicles to provide paid rides, had been used a total of 12,628 times in five areas. Especially in the 23 wards of central Tokyo, the hourly rate for such services was double that of taxis.
Taxi transportation services “are starting to have certain effects as a mode of transportation,” Transportation Minister Tetsuo Saito told a news conference on Friday, noting that it is too early to assess the services.
In mid-April, ride-hailing services were launched in the Keihin area, including Tokyo and the neighboring cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki, in Kanagawa Prefecture, as well as in the western city of Kyoto, and in the central city of Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture. , and the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, later that month.
Hourly usage for taxi services was about 1.5 in Tokyo, 0.8 in Kanagawa and 1.3 in Aichi, compared to about 0.7 for taxis nationwide.
