THE Transport Advisory Committee (TAC) has agreed to recommend a higher percentage rise on taxi fares to offset delays in implementing new fares this year, say taxi drivers. TAC chairman Professor Leung Chi-keung told five representatives of the Urban Taxi Drivers' Association that he had not yet received their application for a 16.6 per cent rise in August. He said the committee had urged transport officials to hand in all applications no later than the August 31 meeting to allow recommendations to be made for Executive and Legislative Council approval by October. ''The TAC very much hopes to discuss and recommend new fares in July, as it is now some 18 months since the last taxi fare rise,'' Professor Leung said. ''The implementation date would depend on what the TAC recommends, and on legislators' timetables after the September recess. It seems very unlikely that new fares could be implemented before October. '' he added.
