Japanese taxis
A Japanese taxi (日本のタクシー) describes taxi circumstances in Japan.
Market size
The market size of the whole country is about 1.8 trillion yen in 2009 (Heisei 21) year, 1 trillion 727.9 billion yen in 2010 (Heisei 22). It is down to about 60% of the maximum 1991 (Heisei 3) year.
Due to deregulation, the number of taxis in many areas, especially in metropolitan areas, became excessive. In October 2009 (October 2009), the Taxi Business Optimization Activation Special Measures Law was enforced to encourage taxis to be reduced. As a result, in the Tokyo area where the reduction of the number of vehicles before the whole country was promoted, the number of taxis decreased by about 20% from the maximum, and after July 2010 the sales per unit turned to increase, the next year It increased for eight consecutive months until the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in March.
Classification
Long-term care and welfare taxi
One of the advantages of a taxi is that “passengers can be transported by door-to-door”. Taking advantage of this advantage recently, taxi operators targeting people with great restrictions on mobility, such as disabled and elderly people, increased. Some business operators have obtained home official helper (grade 2 or higher helper can get on and off nursing care) and driver’s qualifications such as life saving course. Taxis that can load wheelchairs are also registered as 8 number special purpose vehicles.
For the purpose of transferring users of nursing care services to hospitals etc., a nursing care provider whose main business is not a taxi (in particular, a home-visit nursing care / home nursing care business) is classified as a general passenger car transportation business (limited for transportation of patients etc.) (“Nursing care taxi”). Among them, cases where nursing-care insurance and support expense regime are not applied is referred to as care transportation service, in case of applying (nursing service such as hospital visit), there is a difference in how to collect fares.
Taxi for private paid passenger transport
As a private cargo passenger transportation under Article 78 of the Road Transport Law (refer to the abolished alternative bus # 80 bus for details), you can do a taxi business with a white number vehicle approved by the Land Transport Bureau. There are ones that take this form in the aforementioned nursing care and welfare transportation.
Taxis that play the role of regional crime prevention and disaster prevention
The taxi has the characteristic that it runs “everywhere in the area, 24 hours a day, 365 days, and the communication means is secured by radio.” Utilizing this characteristic, there is also a region that is establishing a system that cooperates with the police radio in emergency. (In case there is doubt that the criminal has escaped using a taxi after the crime, simultaneous cryptographic arrangement will flow wirelessly. Recently, in some areas tying up with convenience stores etc. to stop at the parking lot of the site, passengers waiting for radio, while also serving as crime prevention for shops.
Driver’s agency business
There are many cases where taxi operators serve as driving agency business since ancient times, but in addition to the diversification of taxi business, in addition to taxi due to the revision of law in 2004 (2004) two types of medium and medium type • It became impossible to engage in alternate driving unless one of the large two-kind driver’s license (medium type 2 kinds enforced from 2007) was able to engage in substitute driving (the law itself was enforced in 2002, but two types of licensing obligation Had a grace period of two years), taxi enterprises entering the driving agency business are increasing more rapidly.
Package transport
There are taxi operators who undertake transportation of small items at short distances such as parts for maintenance such as computers, data media etc. (Although it is a usage similar to a motorcycle or red hat, taxis are passenger transportation industry It is not permitted to transport only cargo)
Besides the above, there are various kinds of unique business such as shopping agency for daily necessities and transfer to kindergarten and elementary school, and recently even the same taxi business, even in the same taxi business, the direction of diversification It can be said that it shows.
Meanwhile, freight transportation was conditionally deregulated, and on November 1, 2017, Asahikawa Central Higher (Asahikawa city, Hokkaido) and Sagawa Express collaborated and separated by a taxi using a pair of taxis We launched a project involving loading carriers that also carries out shipping.
How to Use
There are taxi stands at stations, airports, harbors, department stores, sightseeing spots, downtown areas, hospitals, etc. There are taxi ranks, and get on line in order (in Tokyo stations etc. say “Please get on the first come first served basis” The depot directing officials also basically comply with it). Choosing a taxi vehicle is basically a freedom of a customer, and in recent times, when the wishes of a wagon taxi or payment other than cash is desired due to diversification of vehicles and payment methods to be described later, cases where changes in order are accepted is there. Some buildings, hospitals, etc., a crew member of a superior ranked business operator selected by a taxi center, and a crew member who has a good witness certificate issued by a taxi center can enter. In the case of Tokyo, Tokyo Station Marunouchi side and Shibuya station west entrance Etc.) and a dedicated stand where only specific businesses can enter. In some taxi stands dedicated to a specific business operator, a taxi company to enter may pay the facility fee to the facility owner and purchase the campaign right. Even in the case of a dedicated stand for a specific business operator, when a customer arrives at the platform when the vehicle of the business operator is not on standby or when he / she comes pick up by calling a customer, the vehicle of another business enters Sometimes.
In Tokyo, there is an “EV • HV taxi stand” at Shin Marunouchi Building and Tokyo Sky Tree Town, where only electric cars and hybrid cars can wait. However, the former is available from 21:00 – 9:00 the following day, ordinary taxis can be waited on the day and holidays, and the latter will be able to receive ordinary taxis if there is no waiting vehicle. As with other standby sites, users basically ride in order from the top, but this is not the case in the case of reservation or wireless distribution.
If a taxi on the road is running on a vacant car display, you can stop and take a taxi. In case of other display, it passes.
Also, in urban areas of major cities, as you can see from the windshield, raise a hand against the (taxi) taxi running on a dashboard running “empty” plate, so you can get on the train as you get on. In the case of nighttime, because there are difficulties in seeing the plate, there are areas that can be distinguished by whether or not the company name indicating light on the car is on instead of the plate. In the past, a white character empty display board was attached to the red ground on the arm from the taxi meter, and from the fact that this arm was knocked down at the time of actual car, expressing the freight calculation as “to defeat the meter.” Recently, almost all vehicles have displayed “Electric car”, “Immaculate car”, “Reservation car”, “Rent”, “Premium”, “Payment”, “Forwarding”, etc., and the display on the plate type is decreasing .
You can call by calling a sales office or a special call center, or in recent years you can have a taxi invitation application (adopted by some taxi company) for smartphone / tablet terminal to pick you up In the case that it costs an airport pickup (there are cases where it is free). In rural areas, there are also progress of depopulation and motorization, and because there is no prospect in sinking business, most areas are riding by calling or taxi stands in many areas (however, the taxi that is traveling was empty In case you raise your hand you can get in the same as urban areas).
Taxis often open the rear left door automatically, so customers do not have to open themselves by themselves. The door other than the rear left side can not be opened automatically because it does not open automatically (However, depending on the taxi stands it is a one-way counterclockwise turn and you get on and off from the rear right side). The automatic door taxi is not in the world (it is the degree seen in a part of Hong Kong where Japanese taxi specification cars are exported).
Take a taxi and tell the destination. A fee will be incurred when the flight crew starts the freight meter when it starts running. However, if you are traveling on a call pick up by phone etc., the meter for the basic fee is activated or it will cost an incoming car. In either case, the fare fee is displayed for a fixed mileage or boarding time (although the time meter is counted even if you leave the taxi while waiting for taxi on the way) or both. When you arrive at your destination, the flight attendant stops the fare meter, so pay the fee according to the amount displayed at that time. In addition to the basic meter, there is a meter indicating the payment amount called a charge unit, and the fare charge is settled accordingly. This indicates discounts or additions other than usual meters such as long-distance discounts and disabled discounts (when discounts are required, presentation of face photographs of handicapped persons is required), pick-up fee, reservation fee, etc. is there. Some contracts are based on a fixed rate fare set in advance (Haneda airport fixed rate fare / Narita airport fixed amount fare). In this case, paying a predetermined fare rather than collecting the fare by the meter is enough. The toll fee when using a toll road or the parking fee when using a toll parking lot at the time of sightseeing etc. is the one borne by the passenger, so it must be paid in addition to the meter amount.
As a settlement method, in addition to cash, there are tickets (those issued by a taxi company, those issued by a credit card company, etc., there are cases where the usage limit and the expiration date are defined), coupons (abolished by forgery prevention) , Credit card, debit card, Suica / ID, and the like. In cases other than cash, there are limited taxis (business operators) that can be used, so it is necessary to check well at boarding time.
When descending, the door on the left rear opens automatically. When the customer gets down the door closes so customers do not have to close. However, this is a thing that the crew confirms the operation of the customer and the surrounding traffic condition and operates, it is different from the general automatic doors. In recent years, negative pressure type (intake air force of the engine) and motorized type are increasing which do not require strong arm power. Also, when the customer closes the door when getting off the vehicle, in the case of a lever type using a wire type lever or the like, since the lever on the crew member also moves in conjunction, the crew’s arm, legs, etc. may be caught in the lever, The opening and closing of the door should be left to the crew. However, when riding a passenger seat passengers themselves need to open and close themselves, which is no different from ordinary cars. The door on the rear right side is often subjected to a child lock in order to prevent accidents and to prevent accidents that can occur due to passenger opening and closing doors without permission.
fare
In principle, the fare follows the same region same fare system, and in principle the same fare was used regardless of the company in the same area, but in 1993 (Heisei 3) this system was abolished. Currently, freight can be decided freely at the discretion of each company as long as it is within a certain range up to the amount specified for each region. For example, as of February 2017 (February, Heisei 29), the general premium fare for Tokyo in the wards of Tokyo is 410 yen, but there are also companies that make it 400 yen or 300 yen. Also, in 1997 (Heisei 9) a system called Short Race Distance Fare System was introduced in some companies. This is to shorten the distance to which the first ride fare is applied instead of lowering the first ride fare, and when traveling at a fixed distance it will be equal to the normal fare, but short distances that tend to be avoided from the height of the first ride fare It aims at promoting use.
The taxi with the first cheapest fare in Japan is 250 yen at the harbor sightseeing taxi in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
In private taxis, the business tax exemption point system based on the consumption tax law is applied (because sales are below the prescribed value), so it is exempted from the tax obligation of consumption tax, so the fare is cheaper than the corporate taxi by that amount There are areas that have.
Basic fare charge system
Fares and charges of ordinary taxis are structured as follows.
Basic fare
Distance fare
First fare
From a ride a fixed distance until a certain distance will be a flat rate. This is called the first fare.
Additional fare
A fixed amount of fare is added each time it travels a certain distance. Since the deregulation of 2002 (Heisei 14), business operators can freely set up.
Time distance combined use fare
While traveling or stopping at a constant speed (10 km / h) or less, the elapsed time is converted to the distance by the fixed standard calculation method instead of the traveling distance, and the fare is added. Therefore, when the traveling route is congested, it becomes a high fare for the travel distance. This fare will also apply if you are forced to wait for a taxi riding due to the convenience of the passenger.
Depending on the region, the time distance combined fare is not applied on the expressway. This is to avoid getting caught in a traffic jam on a freeway where you can not get off and stopping, so that the fare does not rise too much. In this case, the driver pushes the speed indicator (if not paid button) of the taxi meter so as to only add the distance as soon as it passes through the sign for the “car exclusive” at the entrance to the expressway, It must be canceled.
Hourly fare
Fare determined by just the time you got on board. It is often used in tourist spots such as sightseeing spots. It is also called simply “charter”.
Flat rate fare
If departure point and arrival point are decided, it is a fixed fare regardless of mileage and traveling time, it is mainly used for airport contact etc., some routes such as Haneda airport international flights and Narita airport are designated . However, when distance fare is judged to be cheap, it may not apply.
Charter fare
Regardless of time or distance, for example, a method of “borrowing a car driven by the crew and the crew one day by” the customer pays the minimum compensation that can be expected from the crew’s daily sales as “fare” . Individual taxi operators who have regular customers, business owners with media related customers, taxi companies in regional areas where travel distance is long for tourist purposes, and tourism industry is thriving.
Extra / discount fare
Late-night extra fare
It is usually added 2 to 30% from 22 o’clock (23 o’clock in some metropolitan areas) to 5 o’clock next. The addition is not added to the meter display, but the distance that the meter goes up is shortened. Therefore, there is no change in the amount of the first ride. This time zone is also said to be “Aotan” (diversion from flower tag term) because it is displayed “blue extra” on the indicator light blue.
Winter extra fare
Taxi which runs in a specific area, in consideration of poor road conditions in winter, such as in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku Shin-etsu area, the fare which is added all day only during the tough winter period. Usually added by 20%.
Disabled discount
People with disabilities are often subject to 10% discount on fares, depending on the area, by presenting a handicapped person.
Long distance discount
If you use more than a certain fare, a fixed amount will be discounted.
Various according to the company such as 5 discounts of fares of 5,000 yen or more (commonly called “go-go division”, “go-go fare”), 5,000 yen or more 3 discounts, 9,000 yen or more 1 discount. Some businesses do not adopt long distance discounts.
Difference in fare depending on model
In addition to the above fare structure, taxi vehicles are classified according to the type of vehicle, and the fare differs depending on the class. Not only the first fare but also the travel distance to which the fare is added are different.
The classification is roughly classified into the following 4 types, but this classification is not necessarily common to all nations, especially in areas where there is no distinction between large cars and specified large cars, and areas in which these are the same as medium size vehicles are many . Notice that the classification method is different from the road traffic law. In part such as the Takeshiba district of Tokyo 23 wards and Kyoto city region district, the fare by model type is abolished and it is integrated into the classification “ordinary car”. Even in the area where only medium-sized cars and small cars are unified, the division name is often referred to as “ordinary car”.
Specific large car
Vehicles with 7 or more passengers with regular and small cars. This corresponds to jumbo taxis using wagon cars and one box cars. Hiace (ten-seater wagon, 14-commuter commuter is treated as 2 number), Alphard, Velfire, Elgrand, Estima (seven-seater) etc.
A large car
A car with a maximum capacity of 6 passengers on a regular car (3 number car). LS, Cima, Fugue, Century, Celsior, Crown Majesta, Crown (Royal Series / Athlete), Mark X, Legend etc There are also minivans such as Estima (8 passengers), Presage and Odyssey (The third row seat is removed, which is similar to the real station wagon).
Medium size car
Among small cars (5 number vehicles), cars with a length of 4.6 m or more and a riding capacity of 6 people or less. Crown sedan, Crown comfort, Cedric, NV 200 banet etc It may include 3 number cars of less than 2000 cc. Formerly a medium-sized taxi had a column shift with front seats on a bench seat with six passengers (up to 5 passengers), but now crowns (both sedan and comfort) have a capacity of 6 people As there is no model and Cedric also abolished the bench seat specifications in September 2009 (September 2009), now almost all medium sized taxis are 5 seats (up to 4 passengers) . The difference in riding capacity with compact cars virtually disappears and the difference in the comfort of the rear seats is only a certain extent.
Compact car
Among small cars (5 number vehicles), vehicles with a length of less than 4.6 meters and a riding capacity of 5 people or less. Comfort, crew etc. There are also small tall wagon such as cube, wing road, fan cargo, lactis, Corolla Fielder, shuttle and small station wagon. Once in the 1980s such as Mark II, even when the total length was over 4.6 meters, there were times when cars loaded with 1800 cc class engines were classified as compact cars.
After stopping comfort production various models are adopted even in the sedan type such as Premio and Corolla Axio.
Since passengers are also included in the passenger capacity (unless there are tour operators in the passenger seat for training etc.), the number of passengers who can actually get on board is one less than the riding capacity.
According to the region, there are areas with many middle-sized cars, areas with many compact cars, and areas with medium and small cars in about half. Although there are many medium-sized vehicles in the three major metropolitan areas in the metropolitan area, the Kinki area, and the Chukyo area, except in exceptional cases, medium and small cars are about half in Kyoto city and Wakayama city. In addition, there are many small cars in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa.
Work
As for crew members, there are many male crew members, but women’s late night work (22 o’clock – 5 o’clock) has been approved for taxi crews from before the revision of the Labor Standards Law of 1999 (Heisei 11), and in the case of women working for crew There are also a few. However, in general there are many day and day workers. The crew members are generally full-time employees (employment contracts without fixed deadlines), and in the case of every other day work, from eleven to thirteen on a monthly basis. In the case of every two-day work, we calculate one office as two days worth of labor, so we will work from 22 to 26 days a month. There is also a system of working day and day (from morning till evening), night work (from the night to the morning), up to 12 hours on a daily basis, but in this case, 22 to 26 passengers per month Possible. Regular employees have many such work systems.
Regular crew members (contract workers / commissioned workers) are not full-time employees, but they can work on alternate days on a monthly basis to eight (in case of day / night day work, up to 16 offices, one work maximum up to 12 hours). Often, elderly people and concurrent workers often work like this.
Monthly salary is mixed with monthly sales, fixed salary and commutation type exist. Therefore, in the case of a commission system, salaries may increase when the number of working days is large or when sales are large, but when salary is low, salary decreases. If you do not reach a certain amount of transportation revenue, the commission rate against sales falls. (Commonly referred to as “foot cutting”). Bonuses are deducted from the monthly salary by a certain amount of commission rate, and are paid in the form of bonuses several times a year. Sometimes it is not paid if sales do not reach the specified operating amount. The commission rate may be decided against the monthly freight revenue if the rate of pay is determined for the operating fare revenue per day. About 40% to 60% of sales vary depending on various conditions of each company.
In addition, due to recent deregulation, the number of taxis has sharply increased, there is an overcompetition in some areas, and there is a view that the labor environment of the crew is deteriorating. In some areas, the average annual income of crew members is well below the average annual income of all workers’ regional wage. Minimum wage disparity If some of the social problems are manifest, this is often taken up in the mass media.
Taxi driver’s job advertisement is often done mainly in sports newspapers, evening paper, and public employment security offices (Hello Work). Job advertisements for taxi drivers are rarely listed on regular paper, general recruitment information magazines, recruitment websites (such as Rikunabi of Recruit Co., Ltd.), but in the suburbs of big cities, advertisements in trains such as suspended advertisements (especially private railway taxis Company) and a radio commercial etc. There are companies that are recruiting job openings.
“Ride refusal” problem
The refusal to ride is “to refuse the underwriting without justifiable reasons after temporarily stopping or slowing down while parking or stopping the customer and receiving an application for transportation”.
As an example of a refusal to recall from a form of a passenger before getting in the vehicle, it is anticipated that the inside of the car will be polluted by vomit and against the drunken customers at night, resulting in trouble as a result of normal communication can not be exchanged There may be cases where refusal is made. Regarding drunk people passenger car transportation business There is a provision which can refuse boarding in Article 13 (underwriting of transportation and refusal of continuation). Also, as a case of refusal of boarding which may be caused by the political / economic situation of a specific area, there are cases where local governments where nuclear power plants are located refuse to dispatch to agents delegated to nuclear power plants (in this case later Apart from the company apologizing, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Central Transport Bureau also requested the prevention of recurrence).
In the bubble period, the number of passengers using long-distance use was overwhelmingly larger than at present, reflecting the good economic situation at the time, so many passenger refusal to passengers using short distance were seen, but recent social conditions , It is less likely that the flight attendant intentionally refuses to board the boat.
If you are traveling on a road with multiple lanes other than the first traffic zone, even if you accept the customer and apply for transport, you should not accept the underwriting taking safety into consideration On the other hand, at the Tokyo Taxi Center, if a complaint is received from a person who applied for a boarding application, it is treated as “a case of refusing ride”.
Crime prevention
For the safety of crew members, the installation of transparent security boards between the driver’s seat and the rear seat and monitoring cameras (drive recorder) to capture the interior of the car are progressing. However, there are also negative opinions from security officials such as taxi drivers in Osaka prefecture for reasons of service deterioration on the customer side, and the surveillance cameras are in the case of troubles such as violence to the driver and unpaid ride Although it becomes the evidence, there is a problem of privacy, and it is required to prepare the management system of recorded video and sound in order to spread it.
In addition, when a driver who puts suspicious passengers on a person’s face or a wind body feels dangerous, it may send emergency signals to the police, emergency signals to the radio stations, ciphers to inform colleagues’ taxis .
problem
The number of traffic accidents
There are many accidents compared with general cars, and the number of accidents per one vehicle is quite high, more than eight times that of all cars. Forcible driving or fatigue driving can be cited as a cause (in violation of the Road Traffic Act). There is also a claim that “mileage per car is long, so there are many accidents”, but even if you compare by the number of accidents per mileage the taxi accident rate is prominent (as of 2003 The number of accidents for taxi accidents per 1 million km run, 1.704 cases, 1.195 for all cars).
Driver’s wage problem
Corporate taxi drivers’ wages are mostly progressive commissions, while the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism repeatedly gives advice to change. The progressive commute system salary is a type of capacity pay system in which salaries are gradually added according to sales, but the general feature of the taxi industry is that the base fixed salary is extremely low. Together with the fact that the possession of my car has penetrated many citizens by the progress of motorization and the fact that the number of taxis increased due to deregulation in recent years, it becomes a composition that confines a limited pie and gets satisfactory income Only some good drivers are limited, and most of the drivers have a very small income (Takashi Yaneuki ‘s “Kyoto • Taxi Driver Diary” serialized from “December 2006 issue” in “Car Graphic” magazine According to the fact that, for example, even if you work for more than 12 hours a month for one month, sales are 300,000 yen, wages are 80,000 yen for the takeover. In connection with this issue, four drivers of corporate taxis in Osaka Prefecture have declined in income due to excessive increase in number due to deregulation etc., resulting in deterioration of working conditions and an increase in traffic accidents, In October 2005, the District Court ruled on the Osaka District Court a lawsuit against cancellation of approval and approval of price cuts for about 500,000 yen per person, but on March 25, 2009, the district court ruled that ” Just because there was, it was not recognized that there was oversupply or a decline in the salary level of extreme drivers, “he dismissed the appeal. However, in 2008, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will create a new system that reduces excessive competition caused by the increase in the number of cars to date, and attempts to restrict by setting the area with too many units as “specific area” There are contradictions in judicial, administrative views, etc.
Freight problem
Some taxi operators sometimes set less expensive fares than the general taxi fare in that area (such as one coin taxi), but as a result of this movement, leading to excessive competition, “Law on Taxi Optimization and Activation Special Measures” was revised in January 2014, and it was obliged to operate with the official width fare prescribed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. If it does not comply, administrative punishment such as suspension of use of the vehicle may be carried out.
Some business operators who operate cheap taxis in opposition to the movement of these countries filed lawsuits to apply for fares below the official width fare and not to issue orders to change freight rates or order to stop using vehicles We take actions such as doing.
Ride share regulation
In Japan, the act of carrying a customer on a fee basis using private cars is illegal as “white tax”, but worldwide the ride sharing business such as Uber and droplet departure is expanding, Japan protects existing traders There is criticism that it is a lag in order to do.
Other
Among taxi operators, there are cases where monopolizing the customer waiting in the station premises, mainly railroad businesses, and eliminating the entry of other taxi operators. On October 31, 2014, a Kobe railway taxi company, Shinkansen taxi, will take taxi operators other than the company to the Kobe Electric Railway Station.
Source from Wikipedia