Spare a thought for struggling taxi drivers

I have few good memories of catching taxis overseas.

When I visited Seoul during the 1980s, even though I hadn't asked for a sightseeing tour, a taxi driver showed me around town. In the end, when I paid the fare, he complained in Japanese: "It's not enough."

In Athens during the 1990s, I came across a driver who deftly raised the figure on the fare meter with one of his fingers every time he shifted gears.

I hear that in both cities, the quality of drivers improved with the hosting of the Olympics.

I don't know whether it has anything to do with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, but Japanese taxis have always seemed to offer good service. The fare is open and aboveboard. Most drivers are gentlemanly. It's also good that many taxis are non-smoking.

However, the taxi industry is struggling amid the economic downturn and fierce competition.

As a result of drastic deregulation that opened the door to new entries, a growing number of taxi cabs are on the road, but customer traffic has not increased. Do drivers have no choice but to stay behind the wheel, with no time to call their own, in their quest to earn a decent livelihood?

In these adverse circumstances, it is a challenge for the taxi industry to maintain the quality of transportation, including safety, comfort, price and speediness.

But is intervention by the authorities really aimed at improving the quality of taxi services? The Kinki District Transport Bureau ordered eight self-employed taxi drivers to raise the current flag-down fare of 500 yen.

While the cab owners tried to maintain the "one-coin" starting fare, the bureau turned down the request. "With the current fare, they don't gain appropriate profits and cannot secure safety," said a bureau official.

But no taxi would keep running to lose money. In other words, the measure is apparently aimed at restoring "order" in the excessively deregulated local market by raising the flag-down fare above 600 yen.

Taxi drivers must stay healthy to prevent themselves from falling asleep behind the wheel because of overwork.

But if the cheap fare is based on reason, the government should refrain from intervention. At any rate, the policy must not be used to protect taxi operators that are not trying hard enough.

In Osaka, some 2,000, or nearly 10 percent, of all taxis offer a starting fare of 500 yen. Taxi operators are prompted to exert themselves apparently by price-conscious local customers seeking the best service for their money.

Looking at it from Tokyo, where the minimum fare is 710 yen, I envy the commercial city's lack of order--or rather its ingenuity.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 26(IHT/Asahi: November 27,2009)