• Japan: number of taxi and limousine passengers

In fiscal year 2019, the number of passengers carried via taxi and limousine services in Japan reached a low of around 1.27 billion. Even though the passenger land transportation in Japan is dominated by railways and commercial-use buses, taxis are commonly used for short-distance transportation, often at night, when railways and buses stop operations until the following morning.

The emergence of ride-hailing apps

Passenger transportation is strictly regulated. Hence, world-famous ride-hailing companies like Uber and Didi had a rough start in Japan as they struggled to circumvent costly regulations. Nonetheless, they have established themselves in the Japanese market with several domestic competitors offering taxi-hailing smartphone applications that match users with contracted drivers. They advertise quick availability and transportation through artificial intelligence, vehicle tracking, and optional in-app payment. Declining passenger numbers and a shortage of drivers have impelled Japanese taxi companies to adapt their services to digital platforms. Today, over 80 percent of Tokyo’s taxis offer hailing via mobile app.

Renting, sharing, pooling: What you can and cannot do with a car in Japan

For long trips, people prefer rental cars over cabs. Their demand has led agencies to increase their fleet continuously. For short trips, carsharing has received increased attention, user numbers, and vehicles. Since rental and sharing are two sides of the same coin, Times Mobility Co., Ltd. - the largest carsharing company in Japan - provides both. However, sharing not a car but the ride itself may be illegal - at least for commercial purposes. Even taxi businesses are usually not allowed to pool various passengers unless one person acts as the group's representative. Moving forward, there has been some indication from legislators that an amendment lifting this constraint is likely to happen sooner or later. Privately, there are already ride-sharing websites that make it possible to sign up and find other travelers to share fuel and toll expenses.