Hong Kong taxi operators seek to raise flag fall charge by as much as 20%, citing high insurance costs, fewer rides
- Proposal calls for increasing base fare for HK$32, HK$28 and HK$26.5 for red, green and blue cabs, respectively
- But lawmakers doubt government will approve requested amount and say any increase should come with better service
Hong Kong’s taxi operators have proposed raising the flag fall charge by as much as 20 per cent, which would put the base fare for urban cabs at HK$32 (US$4), a plan that several lawmakers have poured cold water on.
Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, on Wednesday said that the subsequent incremental charges would also be increased by 20 HK cents across the board regardless of distance and cab type under the proposal.
He said drivers needed the increase due to higher insurance costs, losing customers to the Uber ride-hailing service and the city’s railway network, and expenses stemming from a government-backed initiative to introduce electric taxis.
“I hope after this fare adjustment, it will potentially increase the amount of money made by taxi owners and drivers by several dozens of Hong Kong dollars per day,” Chau said.
“In this case, this will offset expenses for everyone and will also reduce the anger that everyone has.”
The base fare on red taxis, which serve urban areas, would rise by 18.5 per cent from HK$27 to HK$32 under the plan, reached through consensus in March last year.
It would increase by 19.1 per cent from HK$23.5 to HK$28 for green New Territories taxis and 20.5 per cent from HK$22 to HK$26.5 for blue Lantau ones.
The proposal could also affect the incremental charges applying to every 200 metres (656 feet) travelled after the flag fall or every minute of waiting, with an increase of 20 HK cents for every type of taxi regardless of the distance travelled.
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For urban taxis, passengers would be charged HK$2.1 instead of HK$1.9 until reaching HK$93.5. Then they would pay HK$1.5 instead of HK$1.3, the figure used previously.
Legislator Michael Tien Puk-sun said he believed it was “impossible” for the government to approve the increase, noting the adjustment broke the historical pattern of a fare adjustment every four to five years.
“It would be best for Hong Kong’s public transport fare increases to follow inflation in the long run … the railway is like this, the buses are like this, so there is no reason for taxis to be the exception,” he said.
Tien stressed the government would have to balance the demands of different sectors, saying he feared that allowing the taxi industry to raise prices in such a short period of time would lead other public transport operators to follow suit.
Legislator Ben Chan Han-pan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said any further rise in fares should translate into better service.
He said there was still a significant chance that a price increase would be approved by authorities, but the amount would likely be less as the change requested was “relatively high”.
Chau said that he was only speaking out about the issue on Wednesday as authorities initially promised to approve the fare increases within nine months to a year after the taxi industry came to a consensus.
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The Transport Department on Wednesday said it was currently reviewing the fare increase application from the taxi trade based on several factors.
These included their operating costs, the fare difference compared with other public transport modes, the quality of service and residents accepting the raise.
Chau said he was not confident that the government would grant the full requested fare increase, but urged authorities to give cabbies more room to increase the flag fall charge.
The industry body chairman said the government had yet to hold meetings with taxi operators on the proposal, adding that drivers had not decided on any follow-up action if the government rejected the proposal.
“With regards to protests and strikes, the current government will not want to see this, we also do not want to see this,” he said.
“We hope the government can quickly process this fare increase before these acts need to take place.”
Hong Kong’s taxi operators seek to raise fares by HK$6
The government last approved a cab fare increase in 2022, with urban and Lantau Island taxis receiving a HK$3 increase to their minimum charge, while New Territories taxis were adjusted by HK$3.5.
Authorities at the time also increased the incremental charges for the first-tier distance travelled after the flag fall by 20 HK cents and 10 HK cents for the second-tier.
Hong Kong’s legislature passed a bill in December introducing a demerit points system aimed at stamping out bad behaviour of cabbies and improving the industry’s image.
The new scheme is expected to be introduced by the third quarter of this year.
