15 Hong Kong taxi fleets vie for 5 licences as competition heats up under new plan to improve service
- One taxi consortium says it will invest HK$100 million in new cabs and provide extra training for up to 700 drivers if application successful
- Government says licensing scheme designed to promote ‘healthy competition’ and improve taxi services across the city
Fifteen applicants have entered the arena as competition heated up for five taxi fleet licences to be issued under a new government scheme designed to boost quality of service.
The Transport Department said on Friday, the last day of applications, that the selection results would be announced in July following reviews by an assessment panel formed by the department and the Transport and Logistics Bureau.
“We are pleased to see that the trade responded positively to the application of the Taxi Fleet Licence,” a government spokesman said. “The applicants are diverse, and in addition to the taxi trade, members of other transport sectors also participated.”
The selection would be based on six major criteria, such as management capability, vehicle quality and safety-related equipment, and online hailing and fleet dispatch plan, he added.
Under the scheme, selected operators would be required to start their fleet within 12 months after the grant of the licences.
Wong Yu-ting, the chairman of the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association, who has made an application for a consortium of 12 companies in the New Territories, said his team were prepared to invest HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) in new taxis and extra training for between 500 and 700 drivers.