Why is there no one to wave you down? Why are “cab cabs” disappearing from the streets and “app-only cars” mushrooming?
Why did they disappear? The Mystery of the Sharp Decrease in the Number of Taxis
“Even if you raise your hand, only ‘pick-up’ taxis pass by. ……
Recently, the number of cab refugees in Tokyo has been increasing rapidly. Although the taxi should now be readily available for 500 yen for a first ride, the important thing is that “empty cars” are disappearing from the city. Why have the cab fleets disappeared so much?
We asked Masayuki Moriguchi, a mobility journalist and expert on transportation infrastructure, about the “desperate situation” of the cab industry behind the disappearance.
The author, who has poor eyesight, has difficulty distinguishing the letters on the cab indicator lights, and often mistakes “pick-up” for “empty. I am often annoyed at “geisha” that pass by unceremoniously, but what does “geisha” really mean?
The term “pick-up” indicates that the driver has been called by a customer by phone or via a taxi dispatch app and is on his way to a designated location (if the date and time have been specified in advance, the term “reserved car” is used).
In rural areas, the number of cabs themselves is small, and in some areas dispatch apps are not supported, so many people continue to apply for dispatch by phone, but in large cities, app-based dispatch is becoming the norm.
The number of people using taxi-dispatch apps was 16.64 million at the end of 2012, and is expected to reach 20.55 million by the end of 2015 (according to a survey of taxi-dispatch app and ride-sharing usage trends by the ICT Research Institute). GO, a taxi dispatch app that boasts an overwhelming share of the market, surpassed 30 million downloads in July 2013.
Masayuki Moriguchi, a taxi dispatcher with the ICT Research Institute, says that the decrease in the number of empty cabs is due to a shortage of labor, an increase in the number of users of taxi-dispatch apps, and the “shasagashi” business style.
According to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, empty cabs have a high accident rate. The main reason for this is that the driver’s attention is focused on the customers who are standing by the side of the road with their hands in the air.
In addition, the taxi operation relies heavily on experience. Experienced taxi drivers who know the most efficient times of the day and the best places to pick up customers have an advantage, but young drivers are at a disadvantage. For this reason, young cab drivers tend not to prefer the “shifter” business. For this reason, taxi companies have introduced “vehicles exclusively for use with dispatch apps,” which do not offer taxi services, in an effort to recruit drivers.
Although demand for cabs has recovered since the COVID-19 crisis, there is still a labor shortage. Although the number of young drivers is increasing, the number of veteran drivers is decreasing due to generational change. I think this means that the ratio of drivers who are actively engaged in the flow of business is decreasing. (Mr. Moriguchi, same as below)
He also explains that the increase in inbound demand is one of the reasons for the decrease in the number of “empty” cars driving around town.
Before Corona, cab drivers could pick up long-distance customers by going downtown after 23:00, when the late-night fare was charged. Now, however, the number of late-night rides is decreasing. Inbound customers have been attracting attention as an alternative. This may have caused the cab fleet to be biased toward areas and major terminals that are crowded with inbound customers.
Calling with an app” even at a loss
There are currently numerous car-dispatch apps in Japan, including GO, S.RIDE, DiDi, and UberTaxi (Uber), and competition is intensifying. We are now in the midst of the “heyday of car-dispatch apps.
When using a taxi-dispatch application, there is generally a 100-yen application fee and a 300-500-yen pick-up fee in addition to the fare.
A ¥300-¥500 fee for a ¥500 first-ride cab is not a small burden, but Mr. Moriguchi explains why more and more people are using car-dispatch apps even if they have to pay such fees.
Moriguchi explains, “With the number of people without cars increasing, even young people are likely to take cabs more often than not. However, there are few people who ride taxis for short-distance trips because of shared bicycles and other services. I think this means that a pick-up fee of 300-500 yen is acceptable for distances that would cost at least 2,000-3,000 yen.
With a car dispatch application, you can know the time of dispatch, so there is no need to wait for an empty car while enduring the heat or cold. The waiting time is only a few minutes to 10 minutes. Unlike a phone call, there is no need to tell the driver the location of the ride, and the estimated time of arrival at the destination and the estimated fare are also available. Payment is also easy, as you can pay online by registering a credit card or other payment method. I think there are more advantages than paying a pick-up fee.
In my case, I drive my own car on a daily basis, but when I am on a business trip, I sometimes use a car-dispatch application. The other day, I was planning to take a limousine bus from Shibuya for an early morning departure, but the tickets were sold out. When I decided to take a cab, there was not a single empty car at the platform. I rushed out to the street and called a taxi using the car dispatch app. I was worried that I would miss my flight, but it came in five minutes. Thank God.”
Nevertheless, there are many elderly people who are not accustomed to using smartphones and apps, and those who want a ride for a short distance, who are having trouble finding a cab. In fact, one often sees elderly people waiting by the side of the road for a long time for an empty taxi.
Mr. Moriguchi says that “the use of cab stands will never disappear,” but in the future, it may be necessary for users to strongly emphasize that there is a deep-rooted need for such services.
Sales may decline…Moral of the story…Simultaneous calls to apps
In this heyday of car-dispatch apps,
In Japan, however, many apps can be used even in Tokyo, which can cause problems. For example, some users use multiple apps and take the first cab that arrives early, while others cancel their reservations. For cab companies, this can lead to a drop in sales because they can no longer respond to other requests for taxi dispatch. I think it is better to use only one company on a case-by-case basis.
Personally, I think it would be ideal to have one organization in one city, as is the case overseas. I think it would be difficult for the foreign companies Uber and DiDi, but if GO and S.RIDE were centralized, I think it would be much easier to use.
In recent years, new services that can be used from car-dispatch apps have emerged one after another.
These include “shared-ride cabs,” in which users are matched with other users who are close to their destinations, and “shared-ride cabs (demand transportation),” in which multiple customers ride in a single vehicle and are picked up and dropped off at their destinations one after the other. Ride-sharing,” in which individuals use their own cars to drive for a fee, has also been launched. Both of these services can be used via a car-dispatch application (or dedicated app).
In addition, self-driving cabs (robo-taxis) are expected to begin operating this year. According to Mr. Moriguchi, the day when “unmanned cabs” will be driving around the city is near.
This “diversification of cabs” is expected to be a solution to the shortage of labor and the problem of transportation refugees.
The common sight of “just raise your hand and they will stop” is becoming a thing of the past in Japan. The future is just around the corner, when cabs will disappear from the streets and unmanned cabs will start running.
Masayuki Moriguchi is a mobility journalist. After graduating from Waseda University, he worked in the editorial department of a publishing company before becoming an independent freelance journalist in 1993. He covers transportation and urban situations in Japan and abroad, and publishes in magazines, on TV, radio, the Internet, and lectures.” In 2011, he established Mobilicity Inc. and is in charge of research and consulting for solving mobility and urban development issues. He is the author of “MaaS Changes Local Regions: How to Make Regional Transportation Sustainable,” “Introduction to MaaS: Smart Mobility Strategies for City Planning,” “What Will Happen to the Automated Driving Society Starting from Now? Toyama kara kakudaru Kotsu Kakumei (The Transportation Revolution Expanding from Toyama), and Paris-style Kankyo Shakai e no Chosen (The Challenge of Paris-style Environmental Society).
Interview and text： Keiko Tsuji PHOTO： Afro