Category: taxis
Lantau taxi drivers maybe HK’s best-paid
Lantau taxi drivers are possibly the best-paid in Hong Kong after incomes skyrocketed during the tourist boom 2013-15.
This chart (below), prepared by the Legco Research Office, puts the income for blue cab rentee-drivers at $18,500 a month, $1000 more than Hong Kong drivers and nearly $2000 more than NT drivers.
The figures are not recent, however. The latest is from the first half of 2016 which coincides with the issue of another 25 blue taxi licences to relieve the shortage.
The auction of extra plates has eased taxi waiting times in Lantau, but it’s not clear what impact it has had on incomes.
However, the chart shows steep rise in Lantau taxi income in 2013-14, which was when local residents found taxis hard to come by.
That period coincided with strong growth of tourists, travelling mostly between Tung Chung, Disneyland and the airport, stranding Lantau’s small taxi fleet on the north coast.
It was a boon for drivers though. Average monthly earnings spiked from around HK$10,000 in early 2013 – the lowest of any drivers – to the highest in 2014.
But even the best-paid cabbies are paid less than truck and bus drivers, the figures show.
For that reason cab owners are increasingly looking beyond Lantau for drivers, which is why blue cabs are sometimes seen as far afield as Fanling, this story in Skypost reveals.
Another chart in the Legco paper shows that taxi drivers across Hong Kong are involved in more accidents than any other public transport category.
Man dies after fall from Kap Shui Mun Bridge
A 63-year-old taxi passenger has died after jumping over the side of the Kap Shui Mun Bridge early this morning.
The cab was approaching the Lantau Link toll plaza at about 2am when the man called for the driver to stop, saying he felt sick, Apple Daily reported.
The car halted in the slow lane and the passenger, surnamed Man, exited the vehicle and climbed over the railing at the side of the road.
After the driver sounded the alarm, Marine Police and Fire Department found the unconscious body of the man in the water following a 45-minute search.
The man died shortly after being admitted to Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan.
According to the Apple Daily, the deceased had worked as a driver, but was a heavy drinker which caused arguments with his family.
Last night he went out alone after a family dinner. He did not leave a note, but send a text message to his grandson, saying “Grandpa won’t be with you anymore.”
Photo: Apple Daily
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Tung Chung cab driver fined $1000 for overcharging
A Lantau cab driver has been fined HK$1000 for attempting to overcharge passengers.
The 60-year-old driver, surnamed Ho, was arrested after soliciting undercover police officers at the Tung Chung MTR taxi rank on June 12.
The incident took place just as signal 8 had been raised for Typhoon Merbok, a time when fares are usually raised as most cabs disappear off the road.
A Lantau District police officer close to the case said the undercover operation had been planned for some time and had not been timed for the typhoon. He said operations against taxi overcharging would continue.
But the magistrate in the West Kowloon Court last month took the typhoon conditions into account and imposed a penalty at the low end of the range.
Section 40 of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations specifies fines of up to $10,000 and six months jail for cab drivers who seek an “inducement” from passengers.
Lantau cab driver arrested for overcharging during typhoon
A taxi driver called Ho must be one of the unluckiest people in Hong Kong.
The 60-year-old Lantau taxi driver was arrested by police last night for overcharging fares during Typhoon Merbok, HK01 reported today.
Following complaints about cabs refusing fares and hiking prices during typhoons, plainclothes officers went to the Tung Chung MTR taxi stand at 5pm, just before T8 was hoisted.
A cab driven by Ho arrived at the rank and, after asking their destination, he allegedly asked for a fare well above the standard price.
Ho was arrested under section 40 of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, which forbids a driver from asking for an inducement, with a penalty of a $10,000 fine and six months jail.
This police sting might prompt surprise among regular customers of Lantau cabs, where soliciting for higher fares is a widely-reported practice.
Among Hong Kong taxis in general, raising the price during the typhoon is also not unusual because of the limited number of cabs and the urgent demand. The arrested driver can count himself unlucky.
Time to Uberize Lantau’s transport network
Golden Week holiday period has come and gone and once again Lantau’s traffic network was hopelessly choked.
Visitors waited two hours or more in the Tung Chung taxi queue for a ride to South Lantau, the Apple Daily reports.
Rather than idle under the hot sun, some took one of the half-dozen seven-seater people carriers charging $400-$500 per vehicle to Po Lin Temple.
This is the kind of entrepreneurialism for which Hong Kong, prior to the food truck fiasco, was renowned. It is illegal, however, and the Transport Dept, instead of expressing concern about the tourists’ discomfort – not to mention the failure of its policies – has vowed to work with the police to hunt these criminals down.
The problem is the city’s taxi industry is dominated by the owners, who have paid up to HK$7 million for a red plate. David Webb estimates this fleet of creaky old Crown Comforts is worth HK$118 billion, and it is the government’s role to protect the financial well-being of this powerful interest group.
Hence the resistance to change. In ‘Asia’s world city,’ drivers are unable to receive payment in any form but cash and are untroubled by competition from ride sharing services.
Lantau’s problems are exacerbated by the limited road network and government’s determination to squeeze as many people as possible onto the island for leisure-making.
The choice is either limit the demand for transport or increase the supply.
We’re not going to cap the number of visitors, so let’s look at lifting transport capacity. In the medium term we might upgrade the Tung Chung-Tai O ferry service and add extra and bigger buses, but the obvious immediate fix would be to track down the owners of those seven-seaters and issue them holiday period permits.
For local residents, it’s not just Golden Week. The taxi and bus services are maxed out over most weekends, especially in the hotter months. If you’re a South Lantau resident needing to catch a weekend flight you’re better off begging a lift from your neighbour.
We wouldn’t be in this fix if the government hadn’t banned Uber and Didi services. Smart technologies are designed to provide the kind of flexibility to solve precisely these kinds of problems. When Golden Week rolls around again in October, you can bet the only change will be the Transport Dept inspectors trying to catch those providing a desperately-needed service.
HK taxi fares to rise on Sunday
Red, blue and green Hong Kong taxi fares will rise on Sunday.
For Lantau cabs, flagfall will increase to HK$19 from HK$17, and every 200m will be charged at $1.5, up from HK$1.4 currently.
Flagfall for red cabs will rise to HK$24.
The more details on Lantau fares, see this Transport Department conversion chart.
Lantau taxi fares up again
Lantau taxi fares are on the rise once more. From April 9, the flagfall charge will be hiked 11.7% and the incremental charge 7%.
Under the new rates, approved by the Transport & Housing Bureau and endorsed Tuesday by the chief executive in council, the flagfall will increase from $HK17 to HK$19 and the incremental charge – for every 200m – will rise from HK$1.40 to HK$1.50.
Hong Kong and New Territories cab fares will also increase by HK$2 per flagfall. In the initial application last April, Lantau drivers had sought to increase the flagfall by HK$4, Apple Daily reported.
In the last price rise in December 2013, the blue taxi flagfall was hiked from HK$15 to HK$17 and the red taxi from HK$20 to HK$22.
Prosecutions soar for Lantau closed road breaches
Prosecutions of drivers entering South Lantau without a permit have risen by nearly three-fifths in the last two years, according to Transport Dept figures.
Police prosecuted 1007 drivers last year, up from 823 in 2014 and 637 in 2013, the department said in answer to a question from Legco member Kwok Ka Ki.
South Lantau police chief David Bennett, a former traffic policeman who took on the post early last year, has said he would make road safety a priority.
Prosecutions for closed road breaches up sharply
Prosecutions of drivers entering South Lantau without a permit have risen by nearly three-fifths in the last two years, according to Transport Dept figures.
Police prosecuted 1007 drivers last year, up from 823 in 2014 and 637 in 2013, the department said in answer to a question from Legco member Kwok Ka Ki.
South Lantau police chief David Bennett, a former traffic policeman who took on the post early last year, has said he would make road safety a priority.
Here come the blue taxis
More blue taxis could be hitting the Lantau roads as early as April.
The Transport Dept issued a tender for an extra 25 Lantau taxi plates on December 18, potentially increasing the stretched local fleet by 50%.
Local taxi numbers last increased in 1997,when ten new licences were issued as Chek Lap Kok Airport began operation.
Since then Disney and Ngong Ping 360 have opened, tourist numbers have increased fivefold and the populations of both Tung Chung and South Lantau have expanded significantly.
Lantau Confidential 