Advertisement

Using Hong Kong’s taxi apps as ‘frustrating’ as flagging down cabs on street, consumer watchdog says

HKTaxi comes out tops for reliability in Consumer Council review of seven apps, but it warns that companies are collecting customer data they don’t need

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Taxi apps are convenient to some extent, but there’s also an insidious side to them in terms of the customer data they collect. Photo: Nora Tam

While taxi apps are meant to be convenient for customers, using them can be as frustrating as trying to flag a cab on Hong Kong’s streets, and worse, they are taking chunks of personal data irrelevant to the service they offer.

The Consumer Council raised these points on Thursday when it released its review of seven well-known taxi-hailing apps, including HKTaxi, Didi Kuaidi, Fly Taxi, God Taxi and SynCab. 

From the experience of 80 people who took 429 journeys, the council found that HKTaxi was the most reliable, with customers getting a confirmed booking almost all the time.

HKTaxi was touted as the app with the highest successful booking rate by the Consumer Council. Photo: Edward Wong
HKTaxi was touted as the app with the highest successful booking rate by the Consumer Council. Photo: Edward Wong

However, the other six were less so, dragging down the average confirmed booking rate to 79 per cent. 

Drivers were also choosy – the availability of taxis depended on the time of the request, distance of the ride, cost of the journey and the tip offered. 

Advertisement