'Our business is tough enough': Plan to launch premium taxi service in Hong Kong raises hackles
Proposed new premium service would monitor drivers to guarantee quality, lawmakers told
The government has proposed adding a premium taxi service to the streets of Hong Kong in which drivers will be supervised to ensure a higher quality of service.
In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council yesterday - and immediately opposed by the city's taxi trade - the Transport and Housing Bureau said companies issued with a special franchise would have an incentive to monitor drivers.
The bureau believed current taxi services varied in quality because there was no centralised manager to check performance. Hong Kong has issued 18,138 taxi licences, which are held by over 9,000 owners, and there are about 40,000 drivers, many of whom rent the vehicle from its owner and operate individually.
But, the paper said, since the driver was not an employee of the cab owner, there was no supervision of the cabbie's service.
It is the first government proposal on reforming the trade since police arrested seven drivers of the ride-sharing platform Uber and raided the firm's Hong Kong office in August.
"In order to solve the problem, there is a need to introduce a new operation and management model to centralise them so that the quality of service could be maintained and there is some supervision of performances," the bureau paper said.
"A preliminary study has found that a new management system through the franchising model could work."
The study on a premium service is expected to be finished by the third quarter of next year, the paper said.
The proposal was not welcomed by taxi industry leaders, who said the idea of premium rides was redundant as drivers already provided a good service.
Drivers feared the new plan would hurt their incomes.
"Our business is tough enough now," said Choi Keung, chairman of the Taxi Associations Federation. "Adding more cabs on the roads will result in serious traffic congestion. It will be difficult to get customers."
Choi said the industry had suggested transferring current taxi drivers into the new scheme.
Democratic Party lawmaker Wu Chi-wai accused the government of monopolising the market and suggested licensing private cars to pick up passengers, which would make the trade more competitive.
Uber, an American-based company, has gained popularity around the world because it challenges taxi monopolies by offering comfortable cars and credit card payments, which are not usually available.
More than 10,000 complaints were filed against taxi drivers in Hong Kong last year, an all-time high.
