Uber to temporarily suspend operations in Taiwan

The US ride hailing company Uber announced on Thursday that it was temporarily suspending its services in Taiwan, due to pressure from the country's government, which has asked the firm to be registered as a transport firm.

Uber also expressed its intention of restarting talks with the Taiwanese government to "innovate transportation technology", Efe news reported.

"This is a difficult decision," Uber said in a statement, in which it also mentioned its contribution of having provided 15 million rides during its four years of operation on the island.

The suspension will take effect from February 10.

The announcement came after Taiwan's government slapped Uber with 48 fines amounting to 1.1 billion Taiwanese dollars (around $34million) since January 6, when an amendment to the Highway Act came into effect.

According to the new amendment, the fines for illegal passenger transport services have been raised from 50,000-150,000 to 100,000-25 million Taiwanese dollars.

Taiwan's Transport Ministry ordered Uber to suspend its operations and said that the ban of its activities would continue until the firm complied with local laws.

Uber was registered as an information technology firm but provides transport services, according to the Taiwanese government.

--IANS

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