"Izakaya Taxis" Keep The Drinks Flowing On The Way Home

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Kasumigaseki officials best 'pub taxi' clients
Independent taxi drivers who have given government officials cash and gifts are part of groups dubbed "izakaya 'pub' taxis" or "bar taxis," according to sources. These drivers cooperate with other members of their group to ensure a taxi is always available to pick up regular customers and are known to share lists of their customers' favorite drinks, the sources said...It was learned Friday that at least 520 officials of 13 government ministries and agencies have admitted to receiving gift coupons, cash or goods from drivers of taxis they used to return home at night at public expense. Izakaya taxi groups often comprise between 10 to 20 independent taxi drivers who share customers who regularly use a taxi to travel long distances, racking up taxi fares of more than 10,000 yen. If any member of the group receives a job request from a customer that he cannot immediately respond to, the driver will ask another member of the group to do so. According to the sources, members of such groups also share lists of each customer's favorite drinks. A 66-year-old driver who joined one such group said he was handed a bag by another driver containing a 500-milliliter can of beer and snacks on one of his first nights with the group. He was told to give the bag to a customer he was to collect. The customer then received the beer in a practiced manner and drank it up, the driver said. "It's worth it if I can keep such a good customer by paying just 1,000 yen," he added...One official at the Construction and Transport Ministry, which is in charge of the taxi industry, said: "If I'm tired, it's hard not to accept a beer or energy drinks offered by a taxi driver. It's something like a conditioned response, I'm not sure I could refuse such an offer"...more...

[kurohinge1]

And the beat goes on . . .

Taxi docket scandal threatens Japanese Govt

A scandal over taxi dockets is threatening to cause more headaches for Japan's Government.

Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has described the revelations of taxi kickbacks as outrageous.

Homebound taxi fares are a perk for government bureaucrats working late - they are worth up to $200 for a trip to the outer suburbs of Tokyo.

But in competing for the lucrative fares some taxi drivers have been offering incentives - including beer, snacks or even cash back.

A government investigation has found more than 1,400 public servants have accepted the kickbacks, which the Government considers an illegal gift.

More than 150 staffers have been disciplined, including one worker who claimed more than $10,000 in fares in a year.

[halfnip]

For Pete's sake, isn't there something else that the government can be spending their time on instead of this stuff? Like trying to stop that kid over there from stabbing his grandmother because she didn't let him watch his Pokemon show?

Fuck, every news station on TV for the past week has been yapping about the taxis..

[canman]

I think Halfnip most of the people are jealous. Hell wouldn't you like to get off work and have a taxi waiting for you to take you home with your favorite cold beverage waiting for you. Not having to ride the rails with the rest of the great unwashed. It has been my experience that any story that talks about the perks or whatever you want to call them, that gov't officials get, they stories go on and on because in the end people would like the same thing.

[Greji]

I think Halfnip most of the people are jealous. Hell wouldn't you like to get off work and have a taxi waiting for you to take you home with your favorite cold beverage waiting for you..

You mean you don't have this?

[Iraira]

You mean you don't have this?

Oh, by the way, Greji, I noticed a small smudge of dirt on the Bentley this morning. I trust that you will wash and apply a triple wax coating to it before you pick me up this evening. And for the sake of all that is holy, 1) the wine is supposed to be chilled to 18 degrees Celcius, not Farenheit, 2) unsalted Tuvalu cashews, not those decrepit domestic brands, and 3) the goat should be wearing the purple silk nightie, not the green.

Good help is so hard to find these days.

[Greji]

Oh, by the way, Greji, I noticed a small smudge of dirt on the Bentley this morning. I trust that you will wash and apply a triple wax coating to it before you pick me up this evening. And for the sake of all that is holy, 1) the wine is supposed to be chilled to 18 degrees Celcius, not Farenheit, 2) unsalted Tuvalu cashews, not those decrepit domestic brands, and 3) the goat should be wearing the purple silk nightie, not the green.

Good help is so hard to find these days.

I'll get right on that. Of course you'll be wanting your tailored smoking jacket for the ride home. Will be using the ivory, or the hickory butt plug for the ride?

[Iraira]

I'll get right on that. Of course you'll be wanting your tailored smoking jacket for the ride home. Will be using the ivory, or the hickory butt plug for the ride?

Ah, Greji, you heathen. Any civilized man knows that ivory butt plugs are declasse when wearing a tailored smoking jacket.

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Ishihara dismisses taxi beer furor: 'I'd have one'

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara played down the recent discovery that metropolitan government employees received cans of beer from cab drivers, saying he'd accept one himself. "If a (taxi) driver said 'You must be tired,' and offered me a cold one, I'd probably drink it without thinking," said Ishihara during a regular press meeting on Friday. "Does it matter at all?" Ishihara's remarks came following the news that 29 Tokyo Metropolitan Government bureaucrats had received cans of beer from drivers when using taxi tickets to go home after work during fiscal 2007. "If you took money (from a taxi driver) like a kickback, it would be a problem," said Ishihara. "But it's not having his taxi fare discounted. It's just a matter of service and thoughtfulness."

[American Oyaji]

I don't care for Ishihara or his politics, but he has a point. This is called competition. If they offer snacks as part of a service, then heck, what you gonna do?

That being said, start seeing this become official with a pretty hostess type riding shotgun in a reverse seat.

[TFG]

Ishiatama is full of bullshit.
How many FG's have ever been offered a cold beer by a taxi driver?
And for that matter how often does the general clientele get offered anything by taxi drivers?
The people who get offered beer and snacks by taxi drivers are bureaucrats spending tax payers money on taxis and the taxi drivers start the meter before they even get in the taxi. That is why they offer anything in the first place.

[American Oyaji]

Ishiatama is full of bullshit.
How many FG's have ever been offered a cold beer by a taxi driver?
And for that matter how often does the general clientele get offered anything by taxi drivers?
The people who get offered beer and snacks by taxi drivers are bureaucrats spending tax payers money on taxis and the taxi drivers start the meter before they even get in the taxi. That is why they offer anything in the first place.

That's my point. If they started doing it as a regular service to attract customers, that'd be an excellent draw for business.

[omae mona]

That's my point. If they started doing it as a regular service to attract customers, that'd be an excellent draw for business.

Taxi drivers can barely earn a living as it is. I doubt many of them are going to want to pay for these snacks out of their own pocket for the set fares. Chances are they are earning more than the correct & official fare for the rides they give these politicians - enough to more than make up for the cost of the food. And that's the problem. Public money is being spent on this extra service, which benefits only the guy eating and drinking.

If they are charging the standard fare, and they're only offering the food & drink in order to retain a regular customer, then I don't have a problem with this. But I doubt that's what's really happening.

[American Oyaji]

Taxi drivers can barely earn a living as it is. I doubt many of them are going to want to pay for these snacks out of their own pocket for the set fares. Chances are they are earning more than the correct & official fare for the rides they give these politicians - enough to more than make up for the cost of the food. And that's the problem. Public money is being spent on this extra service, which benefits only the guy eating and drinking.

If they are charging the standard fare, and they're only offering the food & drink in order to retain a regular customer, then I don't have a problem with this. But I doubt that's what's really happening.

Fare enough.

If they are being paid over and above out of the public trough, then that is most def dame.

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Coupon ban cuts ministry taxi costs by 80%

Taxi expenses incurred by the Construction and Transport Ministry fell by almost 80 percent between late June and early November compared to the same period last year after its employees were barred from using taxi coupons, ministry officials said. The ban on coupons was enforced as a result of the so-called izakaya (pub) taxi scandal, in which ministry and agency officials were given beer and snacks by drivers of taxis they used to return home late at night at public expense. As part of the ministry's trial ban, about 4,000 ministry employees had to pay for their taxi fares then put in an expenses claim to be reimbursed. A scaling back of late-night overtime work is believed to be a key factor behind the decrease in taxi expenses. The trial period started on June 23 and ran until Nov. 2. During this period, taxi expenses totaled about 86 million yen, just 21 percent of the 400 million yen spent on taxis in the same period last year, the ministry officials said. However, in the first month of the trial period, in which taxi expenses amounted to 6 million yen, the Diet was not in session. In comparison, following the resumption of Diet proceedings in October, money spent on taxis jumped nearly fivefold to 31 million yen. This indicated that overtime hours and taxi expenditure increased because the Diet was sitting, ministry officials said. The ministry plans to keep the ban in place for the time being. Based on the findings of the trial period, the ministry's budget for taxis, including its affiliated and local agencies, for fiscal 2009 has been cut by 36 percent from the previous year to 1.33 billion yen, an official added.

[Greji]

Yomiuri: Coupon ban cuts ministry taxi costs by 80%

The sad thing about this is the vast majority of this so-called cut in cost is from the young bureaucrats paying for the taxi rides out of their own pocket because they are afraid to apply for reimbursement and attract attention. These are legitimate expenses, but they don't want to take a chance on becoming a news photograph and thus ruining their career. Kinda sad, they're young guys and gals and are literally forced to work past last train and then have to pay their own way home.

The taxis tickets are running long and strong for the other Ministries and affiliates, but they aren't under the microscope.

[wuchan]

The sad thing about this is the vast majority of this so-called cut in cost is from the young bureaucrats paying for the taxi rides out of their own pocket because they are afraid to apply for reimbursement and attract attention. These are legitimate expenses, but they don't want to take a chance on becoming a news photograph and thus ruining their career. Kinda sad, they're young guys and gals and are literally forced to work past last train and then have to pay their own way home.

The taxis tickets are running long and strong for the other Ministries and affiliates, but they aren't under the microscope.

A ride home from the izakaya counts as a business expense????? Shit!!! That means I am owed a few thousand man en in back taxes!:shock: On a side note; I do have a book of taxi vouchers from a side job that I have. The drivers don't offer me beer but they don't care if I have them stop at the combini for a "refreshment" on the way home.