Ride-sharing services kick off in Japan, but raising recognition may be challenge

YOKOHAMA — Ride-hailing services, where regular drivers give rides to paid customers, kicked off in Japan on April 12, and those newly hired by taxi operators as rideshare drivers got in their own cars the first night in hopes of earning extra cash and helping alleviate the country’s cab shortage.

In Yokohama and surrounding municipalities in Kanagawa Prefecture, two of the three taxi operators permitted to manage ride-sharing services started their new businesses on the first day.

A 32-year-old Hiratsuka resident looked a little unsatisfied as he completed his six-hour shift as a rideshare driver at 6 a.m. on April 12.

“If what I had imagined was 100%, my first day’s score is 40%. I wanted to get a few more customers,” he told the Mainichi Shimbun.

The man is self-employed and works in the construction industry on weekdays. The rideshare driver job is his side gig. He applied for the position at cab service operator Sanwa Koutsu, thinking he wanted to “help people out and ease the taxi shortage,” and signed a part-time work contract with the company after taking a training program.

Before hitting the road, the nervous-looking man said, “I want to arrive at the customer’s destination without an accident,” and left a Sanwa Koutsu office near Yokohama Station in his white van.

According to him, he got reserved five minutes after leaving the office, but there was no one waiting for him at the designated location. He consulted with the office and canceled the reservation after waiting for the customer for some 10 minutes.

For 2 1/2 hours after that he didn’t get any reservations, even waiting near busy Yokohama Station. There were people catching cabs right in front of him while he sat in his car. He told the Mainichi Shimbun that he felt frustrated, thinking that ride-sharing services might be at a disadvantage as they require reservations through apps.

He was finally booked to drive to Kawasaki Station in the same prefecture, and two young women got in his van. He heard a man seeing the women off say, “It’s the ride-sharing services that’s been talked about recently,” as the passengers took photos inside.

After his first rideshare driver experience, the man commented, “I was nervous to get my first customers but felt relieved when I dropped them off at their destination.” However, those two were the only customers he had on his first day.

“It would’ve been better if there were a few more (customers), but I’m sure reservations will increase as it (the service) becomes better known,” the man said.

(Japanese original by Kazuyuki Endo, Yokohama Bureau)