Two to Tango, please Uber finally makes inroads in ageing Japan

TANGO: Ride- hailing app Uber has finally cracked Japan - approved to offer its service in Tango, part of Kyotango city on the west coast, with a population of just 5,560 and abandoned by the local taxi firm eight years ago.

Tango is one of Japan’s almost 800 designated depopulated communities, and about 40 percent of the population is aged over 65, well above the national average ratio of 27.1 per cent.

For publ ic transpor t , residents have to rely on an on- demand bus operated by a non- profit group, but bookings have to be made by the evening before travel and the bus doesn’t go beyond the town.

Uber, valued at over US$ 60 bil lion, hopes to tap that demographic demand to ferry around the elderly. “Finally, we were able to make our very first step,” said Masami Takahashi, president of Uber Japan Co.

“This service can be a solution for Japan’s ageing society.”

The US firm, one of the pioneers in the ‘ sharing economy’, has faced resistance and restrict ions in some cities as established taxi operators complained of unfair competition.

In Japan, Uber was blocked by authorities from setting up in two cities as Japan bars non- professional drivers from offering taxi services. In Tokyo, Uber operates as a travel agent, connecting users to established taxi company drivers through its ridehailing app.

Non- professional drivers can only operate where public transport is not readi ly available – like in Tango, where rice paddies surround a main street dotted with old, wooden houses. — Reuters