Around 300 taxis operated by two new companies have hit Hong Kong’s streets, the city’s transport minister has said, ahead of an official rollout deadline in July.
Under the city’s new licensing system, some 300 taxis operated by SynCab and Joie have been deployed for trial services, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan told the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
The taxis “have been operating on a trial basis, with a view to gaining [operational experience], collecting passenger feedback, and allowing passengers to experience their services first-hand,” Chan said in a written reply to lawmaker Andrew Lam.
The two companies are among five fleet operators that will eventually provide more than 3,500 vehicles, including around 300 wheelchair-accessible taxis and 1,000 “premium” taxis, she said.
The operators’ fleets will range from 300 to 1,000 taxis. There will be more than 18,000 taxis in the city when all the new taxis hit the streets.
When the new system officially takes effect in late July, the five operators will be required to have completed preparation work and to deploy at least 60 per cent of their fleets, the transport chief also said.
That means around 2,100 of the new cabs will have to be deployed by the July deadline.
The government issued taxi fleet licences to the five companies in July in a bid to boost taxi services amid long-standing dissatisfaction with the city’s taxi drivers.
The five operators have been gearing up since July, including purchasing vehicles, setting up e-payment systems, testing online hailing apps, and recruiting and training drivers, the transport minister said.
Whether the operators get their full five-year operating licence will depend on how prepared they are for a full rollout, involving factors such as whether they are sufficiently staffed, Chan said.
She acknowledged that fleet operators faced challenges in recruiting drivers, adding that she hoped the operators “will continue to adopt various strategies to recruit taxi owners and drivers.”
Chan also said that a third-party service provider was in talks with the fleets to launch a centralised online ride-hail platform.
Meanwhile, traditional cabbies have demanded that the government regulate online ride-hailing services such as Uber, saying their livelihoods are at stake.
