Premium taxi scheme holds little appeal for Hong Kong public, survey finds
- Only 16 per cent of respondents declare themselves interested in using the new more expensive service announced by government
- Poor impression of taxi drivers has also increased among passengers
Few Hongkongers are interested in taking premium taxis due to be rolled out by the government because of high costs and the poor attitudes of taxi drivers, a survey has found.
Introduced by the government in April under the Franchised Taxi Services Bill, 600 premium taxis will be operated under a trial scheme, with enhanced services such as Wi-fi, phone-charging stations and 24-hour customer service. At least half of the taxis will also offer services for wheelchair users.
The survey, conducted by Hang Seng University of Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Taxi Council, found that almost 40 per cent of the 1,200 passengers interviewed had low motivation to try these premium services.
A total of 39.4 per cent of respondents said they were not interested in using the new taxis, while only 16 per cent declared themselves interested; the remaining 44.6 per cent were indifferent to trying them.
The planned franchised taxis are more expensive than regular ones. The suggested base fare for premium taxis is HK$36 (US$4.60), while a regular urban taxi is HK$24. The base price for a cab in the New Territories is HK$20.50.
“Starting prices for franchised taxis are higher than the normal taxi services by almost 50 per cent. If passengers are taking a short journey, they wouldn’t want to use this service,” said Danny Ho Chi-kuen, assistant professor in the department of supply chain and information management at the university.