Hong Kong puts taxi drivers on notice, but will frustrated cabbies simply quit?
City will adopt demerit point system on Sunday, but industry leaders warn ‘unfairly targeted’ drivers may choose to join illegal ride-hailing trade
Under the system, taxi drivers will be given demerit points for 11 types of behaviour including overcharging and refusing fares. They could be disqualified from driving cabs if they accumulate too many points within a certain time frame.
Writing on his blog on Saturday, transport minister Lam Sai-hung called on drivers to continue to provide good service for passengers.
“I believe most of the cabbies provide customer-oriented services for their passengers,” he wrote. “I hope that after this demerit points system takes effect, it can effectively combat a few bad apples in the trade, while also encouraging law-abiding drivers to continue to provide quality taxi services.”
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. Just over one-third of the complaints received by the 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.
Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, said he had called on cabbies to abide by the law, but stressed confusion over drivers’ intentions could easily arise.
