Number of Hong Kong taxis in accidents, complaints rises to highest level in 3 years
- Transport Department says taxi drivers refusing to take passengers and overcharging top list of grievances
The Transport and Logistics Bureau said on Wednesday the city recorded 4,585 accidents involving taxis last year, 26 per cent higher than the 3,632 in 2022 and above the 4,153 in 2021.
The Transport Department received 1,006 serious complaints over taxi drivers last year, almost double the 574 in 2022 and much higher than the 464 in 2021.
The trend of rising complaints corresponded to police statistics, which showed the number of enforcement actions last year rose by 47.3 per cent against 2022 levels to 140 cases. The force only dealt with 49 cases in 2021.
Just over one-third of the complaints received by the Transport Department related to taxis refusing to accept passengers, with another third centred on overcharging and the rest covering failure to take the fastest or easiest routes.
The number of complaints of overcharging hit 340 last year, rising 1.2 times from 152 cases in 2022.
Police said officers also carried out about 80 rounds of law enforcement actions in the three years to 2023 to tackle illegal ride-hailing services.