WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from Denmark
100 HYDROGEN VEHICLES STRANDED AFTER DENMARK’S H2 STATIONS CLOSED
Danish start-up Drivr has halted operations for all its 100 Toyota Mirais in its fleet, after re-fuelling partner Everfuel closed the only five stations in Denmark “until further notice”. “We are in dialogue with Everfuel to get hydrogen back in Denmark,” said the taxi company’s CEO, Bo Svane, adding that the firm is also discussing refuelling infrastructure with “several partners”. The Copenhagen-based taxi firm is currently running its operations solely off its 60 hybrid EVs which is a 62.5% reduction in the number of vehicles it can use to transport paying passengers. It had originally acquired the 100 Toyota Mirais in November 2021, with support from projects funded by the EU’s Clean Hydrogen Partnership. And Everfuel confirmed in January 2022 that it had entered a five- year sole hydrogen supply contract with Drivr. But the Danish hydrogen supplier has since announced in its second-quarter earning report that it would “close or pause, and if possible, divest or repurpose” its light-duty H2 refuelling stations serving passenger cars, due to a lack of profitability. While two of the stations, including Drivr’s main refuelling site at Prags Boulevard in Copenhagen, could be eventually reopened, no timelines have been disclosed to date. Toyota Mirai vehicles have also been criticised by taxi operators in Japan as costly to run due to fuel inefficiency.
from Jamaica
69 JAMAICAN TAXI OPERATORS KILLED SINCE THE START OF 2023
Egeton Newman, president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), disclosed that 69 taxi drivers have been killed in Jamaica since
78
the beginning of the year. On a recent Saturday, a taxi driver operating in St Andrew was murdered by criminals, allegedly for extortion money. He is just the latest victim in a concerning trend where taxi drivers have found themselves targeted by violent criminals. Newman described this as a “dark time” in the transport sector. “I am disheartened by the ongoing deaths of our operators while performing their duties. “The bloodshed of over 69 drivers has stained our streets this year, and we urgently call for an end to these heartless killings,” Newman said. “We believe that extortion is the primary cause. We’re aware that our drivers are being extorted and nobody seems capable of putting an end to it. We urge the government to dismantle this criminal network and halt the slayings on our streets.” According to statistics compiled by TODSS, there were 23 murders of taxi drivers in 2018 and 17 in 2019. The number doubled to 34 murders in 2020, with 41 murders in 2021 and a peak of 57 in 2022.
from Japan
PANDEMIC ACCELERATES SHORTAGE OF JAPANESE TAXI DRIVERS
Japan’s chronic taxi driver shortage means operators are turning to new university graduates to make up the numbers, forcing a shift in a profession long dominated by middle-aged men. The shortage worsened after over 10,000 drivers left during Covid, reducing driver numbers in Tokyo to c. 54,000, according to Tokyo Hire-Taxi Association (THTA). The average age of a taxi driver in Tokyo is 58, with many taking up the profession in their 40s or 50s and working for around ten years until their retirement. In a country where ride-sharing services such as Uber and China’s Didi Global have been banned to protect the taxi industry, the lack of drivers can make it difficult to get a cab during peak hours. The transport ministry is also reportedly considering adding taxi drivers to its skilled-worker visa programme to address the shortage, underscoring the severity of the problem given Japan’s long- standing reluctance to bring in migrant workers. To attract younger drivers, taxi companies offer flexible hours and performance-based pay.
OCTOBER 2023 PHTM
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