Crude oil price rises are turning the screws on taxi companies and airlines, pushing them to pass higher fuel costs on to passengers in the form of higher fares.
Out of 118 taxi services operating in Nagano Prefecture, 99 have applied for permission from local authorities to raise fares by 10 percent to 20 percent. If approved, they will mark the first fare increases since April 1996.
In Oita Prefecture, 65 of its 91 taxi firms have asked to raise fares by some 10 percent since early July.