Tokyo Taxi Fares to Rise by 10 Pct from Late April

Tokyo, March 17 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government on Tuesday approved plans to raise taxi fares in central Tokyo by 10.14 pct on average, starting in late April. Taxi fares in the Japanese capital will rise for the first time since November 2022. Subject to the change are taxi operators in Tokyo’s 23 special wards and the adjacent cities of Musashino and Mitaka. The upper limit on basic fares for a standard-sized taxi will be raised to 500 yen for the first 1,000 meters from the current 500 yen for the first 1,096 meters. Distance-based fares will rise by 100 yen for every 232 meters, instead of every 255 meters at present. Fare revisions are carried out following government screening based on applications from taxi operators. This time, taxi operators said they will use proceeds from the fare hike to raise driver wages, secure employees and introduce cashless payments. Meanwhile, taxi fares were raised on Monday in the Tama region of western Tokyo and almost all areas in Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba and Gunma prefectures. The largest revision was in a Gunma district that includes the capital city of Maebashi, which saw an increase of 11.36 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]