Taking court action, cabbies say their earnings have dropped $2,000 a month
Two taxi drivers who say their earnings have dropped nearly $2,000 a month since the Eastern Harbour Tunnel tolls rose asked the High Court yesterday to scrap the increase.
Chan Yu-nam, 49, and Poon Tat-keung, 41, are seeking a judicial review of the decision by two arbitrators to allow the tunnel company to raise tolls by 67 per cent. Speaking outside court, they said their business had dropped about 10 per cent since the $25 toll came in on May 1.
Their monthly earnings dropped from nearly $9,000 to just $7,000 because many passengers opted to take the train or bus instead.
Mr Poon, a taxi driver for 18 years, said he had lost some regular customers who used to take his cab from eastern Hong Kong Island to Kwun Tong to work every morning.
'There is an added cost to the customer because of the extra $10 in toll,' he said. 'That has turned some customers away.'
The pair were accompanied by legislators Albert Chan Wai-yip and 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung to file their writ at the High Court yesterday.