The Transport Department on Monday said it had received 118 applications for minibus and coach drivers between the launch of the first phase on July 17 and Monday, without elaborating on how many candidates were covered by each submission.

Any candidates recruited as part of the scheme must be paid a salary no lower than the median wage, which is HK$14,300 (US$1,830) for minibus drivers.

Hong Kong Scheduled (GMB) Licensee Association member Chan Chi-fai told a radio show his company had applied on behalf of 20 candidates and interviewed more than 120 people at a job fair in Zhuhai last week in a bid to find Cantonese-speaking mainlanders.

But he added that recruiting workers under the scheme was also costly for business.

“Hiring each new worker will cost an extra HK$30,000 to 40,000. We expect the newcomers will not be able to work in the first month after arriving and before passing the driving test and company training,” he said.

Chan also said his business had to cover accommodation fees and payout between HK$8,000 to HK$9,000 for each driving test.

“[The scheme] is a new thing to everyone, so the industry is expected to handle the miscellaneous issues. But it has not been a big issue so far,” he said.

Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association chairman Chau Kwok-keung also said the extra cost had deterred some companies from applying for the scheme.

He estimated that accommodation expenses for imported drivers included HK$10,000 to renovate a flat for seven to eight drivers, followed by another HK$10,000 per month for the group’s rent.

Chau said drivers who passed their driving test would then have to undergo route training with more experienced employees. “And that costs extra manpower and could add up to spending HK$1,000 more a day,” he noted.

So Sai-hung, chairman of the GMB Maxicab Operators General Association, said the extra costs were “necessary” since the industry had suffered from a long-standing and severe labour shortage.

He said most members of the association, which comprised 40 operators and covered 130 minibus routes, had applied to the scheme.

“Importing foreign labour is the only way out, but we hope this is temporary,” he said.

So added that authorities had promised to create extra driving test slots so drivers brought in under the scheme could quickly take the assessment.

The government rolled out the labour import scheme in June after the number of low-skilled workers in Hong Kong fell by 160,000 between 2018 and 2022.

Under the programme’s import quota, the aviation industry can hire 6,300 airport workers, while the construction sector can import up to 12,000 labourers.

The government has received about 2,900 applications from the aviation sector as part of a first round ending in July, while construction companies have until August 16 to file their submissions.