Uber Launches Taxi-Hailing Service in Nagoya

September 7, 2018

Nagoya- U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. said Thursday that it has started a taxi-hailing service in Nagoya, central Japan, with local taxi operator Fuji Taxi Group.

Uber launched full-fledged taxi-hailing business for the first time in the country, although it conducted a trial service on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, in July with taxi firms there.

The company operates a ride-sharing service in some 70 countries and regions around the world. But it has decided to focus on dispatching cabs in Japan, as commercial ride-sharing is banned in the country.

"We want to make the business nationwide," an official of Uber's Japanese unit said, adding that talks are under way with several taxi operators.

The service requires the use of a dedicated smartphone app.

After a user enters the destination and click on a button requesting a cab in the app, the nearest vehicle out of Fuji Taxi Group's 350 taxis participating in the service will pick up the person.

Taxi fares are the same as those of normal taxis, according to Uber. Jiji Press