Letters | What hope for Hong Kong red taxis in a time warp?
- Competition from other providers could help spur Hong Kong’s taxi service to improve
Earlier this month, I was compelled to get a taxi from the airport to my home in Sai Ying Pun at 3am, as there’s no MTR at that hour. I queued up at the designated platform and entered the 1970s-designed old Toyota Crown. Not that there is anything wrong with Toyota but the vehicle smelt, looked and behaved like a third-world vehicle.
The vehicle, it seemed, failed to get out of third gear, and the rear bearings were grinding all the way along the Highway. The journey cost the equivalent of a good US$45 and comfort was absolutely nil. The driver had little respect for speed limits and seemed to enjoy the loud noise from the faulty transmission.
How can the government justify a taxi system where drivers cannot afford the taxi licence and hence resort to driving old used and abused vehicles, with luggage hanging out the back in the rain on a bungee cord, a panel covered in mobiles and a driver answering three phones at once while at the wheel?
Our buses, minibuses and other public transport systems have all improved, yet, in my 40 years in Hong Kong, the taxi system and drivers have remained in a time warp. I now avoid red taxis as much as possible.
Jan Bochenski, Mid-Levels
Too old? No, the problem with taxi drivers is their driving
Most drivers, including professionals, do very little or nothing to improve their driving after passing their test. This is sad, because to become a good road driver does not require any great level of skill, particularly in Hong Kong, where snow and ice are not a factor.
Good driving is largely a matter of attitude, in particular remembering that, when you are at the wheel, your driving is far more important than anything else: signalling correctly, turning lights on when needed and being in the correct road position are more important than planning tomorrow’s meeting, chatting to your passengers or wondering what to cook for dinner!
A good driver is always learning, often from mistakes, and therefore becoming a better driver, even into old age.
Bad drivers, rather than taking the trouble to find out what is right and what is wrong, tend to copy the mistakes of others and therefore get worse. And they do not realise how bad they are!
What is needed is a change of mindset and a determination in the government, the Transport Department and the police to initiate that change. It happened with the drink-driving law, so why can it not happen with other driving habits? The answer, although simple, is sad: not enough people acknowledge the problem, or take it seriously.
Hong Kong needs someone in a position of authority or influence, who understands what good driving is all about, to take the initiative.
Peter Robertson, Sai Kung
