Hong Kong’s taxis have been facing a string of negativity in recent months for both the industry and its consumers, with fare increases, a demerit point system being implemented, and a long-standing local cab-hailing platform shutting down. But it now looks like the government is taking measures to repair the taxi trade, announcing on March 3 that five taxi fleet operators will soon begin running in Hong Kong to enhance the quality of cab services.
These five operators, which were issued licenses last July, comprise of 300 to 1,000 taxis each, providing a total of over 3,500 vehicles and making up approximately 20 percent of cabs in Hong Kong. These will include electric, hybrid, wheelchair-accessible, and premium taxis to better cater to passenger needs.
Arguably the most interesting feature is that these new taxis will come in their own fleet-specific colours. Hong Kong’s existing cabs have always been red for urban areas, green for New Territories, and blue for Lantau Island, but looking ahead, we will have deep orange cabs from Joie, yellow and orange cars from Big Bee, and bright fuchsia pink taxis from Amigo. The other two fleets from Syncab and Big Boss come in more subdued colours, but it still means we’re going to have almost a rainbow spectrum of hues in Hong Kong taxis (all that’s missing is a purple cab).
These new fleets will all provide online hailing services, electronic communication channels, and multiple electronic payment methods. According to the transport department, the five taxi operators have to run 60 percent of their fleets within a year of being granted their licenses, so we’ll likely be seeing around 2,000 new cabs on our roads by July. Tai Wo Management, which operates the Joie taxis, will start their fleet services by the end of March. The full strength of these new cabs will likely be up and running by the end of this year. What colour cabs are you going for?
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