The Government announced today that the five taxi fleet operators it selected will soon commence service with a fleet of over 3,500 taxis, accounting for nearly 20% of the total number of taxis in Hong Kong.
While addressing the Taxi Fleet Launching Ceremony this morning, Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan said that the launch of the service marks an important milestone of the trade’s development in the city.
The selected operators comprise three urban fleets and two mixed fleets, ranging from 300 to 1,000 taxis each. They will deploy about 1,500 new vehicles at the time of the service commencement and the first fleet is expected to start service by the end of this month.
Passengers will be served with electric taxis, wheelchair-accessible taxis or premium taxis to promote green transport and cater for the diverse travel needs of the customers.
All fleets must provide online hailing services, customer service hotlines and different electronic communication channels for passengers to select appropriate vehicle types, and rate driver services.
Additionally, all fleet taxis will provide multiple electronic payment means, while safety devices and driver monitoring systems will be equipped for passengers’ convenience and driving safety.
For passengers’ easy identification, all fleet taxis are required to display a fleet taxi certificate and fleet taxi plate.
Ms Chan noted that the Government introduced a series of measures to enhance taxi services in the past two years, and the introduction of the new taxi fleet regime was one of the key initiatives.
Under the Transport Department’s regulatory regime, operators form fleets with professional management and good use of technologies to provide quality service for passengers, bringing a new look to the taxi trade, she added.
The department issued conditional grants of the Taxi Fleet License to the five selected operators in July 2024, and they are required to complete the gearing-up work and commence service within one year.
The department will monitor the fleet’s operations and actively promote the remaining fleets to commence operations as soon as possible.
