Think travelling by taxi in the capital is too expensive? Well, the prices have just gone down significantly – assuming you’re only choosing cabs for quick rides around the city centre.
Beginning today (January 30), the initial fare within the 23 wards (plus Mitaka and Musashino cities) has been lowered from ¥730 to ¥410. Quite the discount, huh? Well, of course there’s a catch: this rate only applies to the first 1.052 km, whereas the old starter fare covered 2km.
Once the roughly 1km limit has been reached, the meter in your cab will start ticking up by ¥80 every 237m (or every 90 seconds when you’re moving at 10km/h or slower). That adds up to lower fares for anyone travelling 2km or shorter, while those riding 6.5km or longer can expect to pay more than before. Journeys in between those thresholds will cost roughly the same as previously.
Touted as a change meant to encourage more frequent taxi rides (read: get all those cheapskate tourists to jump in), the revision is unlikely to please Tokyoites who rely on cabs to get home after missing their last train or getting so utterly wasted as to make a journey on public transport unfeasible. They really couldn’t wait for spring before all this fare-fiddling, could they?