Fares will drop by up to a quarter; urban drivers are watching
A fare cut designed to help boost the ailing New Territories taxi trade will take effect on Sunday.
The six-month concession - proposed by taxi operators - will cut the cost of longer journeys by nearly a quarter.
Commissioner for Transport Robert Footman said the move was very unusual and it remained to be seen whether the concessions 'will attract more passengers or not'.
Mr Footman said there was 'no precedent in recent memory in Hong Kong' for cutting taxi fares. 'The trade decided ... to implement this scheme ... The thinking is that this will make them more competitive,' he said.
The flag fall will remain $12.50 and the first seven jumps of the meter will be charged at the usual $1.20 each. The concession kicks in after that, with each subsequent journey stage costing only 90 cents - a cut of 25 per cent. The Executive Council approved the fare cut yesterday.
Tang Kwong-sheng, a spokesman for the New Territories Taxi Drivers' Association, which had last month presented the Transport Department with a list of 1,078 signatures of drivers against the proposal, said the association would adopt a wait-and-see attitude.