|
Taxi firms pull out the stops to scoop up fares
Cabbies get competitive
By KAHO SHIMIZU
Staff writer
While the number of cabs on the road has been on the rise due to gradual decontrols since the early 1990s, the taxi industry in recent years has been fighting over a shrinking number of passengers amid the economic slump.
Cab operators in some regions reduced fares, while others introduced better services, including offering nonsmoking cars to kids' pickup services.
Yasuko Wakai, a spokeswoman for Nihon Kotsu Co., the nation's top cab company, said: "Fare discounts are the last option. Our stance is that there are things that we can do before that."
Tokyo-based Nihon Kotsu, which owns about 1,600 cabs, made all of its fleet nonsmoking for drivers last month. If a passenger smokes, the driver must clean the ashtray and spray the seats to freshen the air immediately after the smoker gets out.
"Once passengers get into our taxis, the cars should totally be dedicated to the customers," Wakai said. When waiting for fares, drivers must not look sloppy, read magazines or eat, to create a "comfortable atmosphere," she added.
The carrier has gradually expanded its fleet of black luxury vehicles, which have more comfortable seats and whose drivers get out and open the door for passengers. Conventional taxis are less comfortable and their doors open automatically.
The black cabs already account for almost half of Nihon Kotsu's fleet, and the number will be increased, the firm said.
Next month, the company will install global-positioning systems in all of its taxis to keep better tabs on available cabs and boost response times.
Nihon Kotsu has maintained its current fare system of 660 yen for the first 2 km and offers a 10 percent discount on the portion of a fare that exceeds 9,000 yen. A 10,000 yen fare, for example, would cost a passenger 9,900 yen.
"As drivers' salaries are based on a commission system, lowering fares will directly affect their pay, which will inevitably result in low motivation and a deterioration in the quality of service," Wakai said.
After the law governing the taxi industry was revised in February 2002, cab operators in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokushima prefectures began to offer greater reductions than those in other places.
In Osaka, many taxi operators' drop fares range between 500 yen and 550 yen, and they also offer a 50 percent discount on the portion of a fare that exceeds 5,000 yen. A 10,000 yen fare, for example, would cost a passenger 7,500 yen.
And since the government further simplified fare-approval procedures in October, it has become even easier for cab firms to cut rates.
But five Osaka taxi operators that had lowered fares have applied to increase them again, and other local operators are trying to find ways to avoid being trapped in a price war.
Hanazono Taxi, a small cab operator in Kagawa Prefecture, is one such company.
It is trying to keep its fares intact by offering a unique pickup service for children traveling to and from nurseries, kindergartens and cram schools, in response to rising crimes against children.
The company said its drivers are required to attend child-care lectures held by the prefecture.
Many of its cabbies have also taken training courses at nurseries and day-care centers and have placed child seats in their cabs, it said.
"Most of the taxi companies in the prefecture are small and will not be able to survive if we get into a price war," said Kazunari Baba, who is in charge of the Hanazono's pickup service.
Cabbies and taxi firms say that cutting fares will not sustain their business amid the falling number of customers due to Japan's prolonged economic slump.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said there were 2.37 billion fares in fiscal 2002, up 0.85 percent from 2.35 billion in fiscal 2001. The number of passengers stood at 3.43 billion in fiscal 1980, and steadily declined between fiscal 1990 and 2001.
There were about 263,000 taxis on the road nationwide as of the end of fiscal 2002, up about 1.5 percent from 259,000 a year earlier. As of the end of fiscal 1980, roughly 251,000 taxis were in service.
Tsuyoshi Osawa, a 57-year-old cabby in Tokyo, says the streets are now a battlefield, with many vacant cabs flocking to passengers in a desperate effort to make a living.
"I've seen many cabbies making U-turns at points where it is prohibited," Osawa said.
"It's a sad, ugly scene to watch."
Tokyo MK Co., an affiliate of Kyoto-based MK Co., said other companies are finally catching up in trying to improve their services to win customers. MK is known for starting a price war in the Kansai region by offering cheaper fares and better service.
Taking advantage of the gradual deregulation that began in 1993, MK started operating in Tokyo in March 1998, offering charges up to 20 percent cheaper than those of competitors while providing clean, nonsmoking taxis driven by well-mannered drivers.
"Taxi operators in the past lacked the idea to do something to attract customers because the industry was protected" by regulations, Tokyo MK President Masaaki Aoki said.
_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
|
Login
Register
FAQ
