Taxis will not require permits for restricted zone drop-offs and pickups by 2021
- Industry unsatisfied with time frame, calling for swifter action and further relaxation of rules
- Issue has been constant source of conflict with customers who may not understand violations
Hong Kong taxi drivers will be allowed to offload and pick up passengers at some restricted zones in the city without needing annual permits but the industry is still unsatisfied with the move, calling for swifter action amid a difficult work environment.
The Transport Department announced on Friday it would progressively relax rules for taxis, adding that drivers would not be expected to renew their annual permits for entering restricted zones – a practice in place since 2003 – once all changes are made in 2021.
By that year, the department said it expected to complete installation of traffic signs in no-stopping zones which would stipulate “except taxi pick-up or drop-off” clauses. The time slots during which cab drivers are allowed to enter such areas will remain the same, subject to location.
Hong Kong Taxi Owners’ Association chairman Wong Po-keung welcomed the move, but said more could be done. “This is good news, but there are many locations popular with passengers that are not yet open to taxi drivers.”
The issue of stopping within restricted zones has been a constant source of conflict between cab drivers and passengers, with customers wanting to get off or flag down taxis at certain convenient spots but unable to do so because drivers were wary of breaking the law.
Wong said taxi drivers should be allowed to stop at more busy spots in the city, such as in areas in Wan Chai and areas near the Sogo department store on Hennessy Road and Sugar Street.
“Passengers always complain that we don’t stop at these areas, but this is because we are not allowed to do so,” he added.