Hong Kong Needs Better Taxi Service Now!

There are too many complaints about taxi service in HK and no will to fix it

Hong Kong's taxi industry is in a horrific state, with complaints up 2.2 percent to a record high of almost 11,000 last year. 

Perhaps there are more complaints because customers have also used Uber and there is such a stark difference between the two services in terms of comfort, cleanliness, driving skills and friendliness of the drivers.

The government thinks people will pay more for better service

Though the government has not mandated the taxi industry to reform itself significantly -- like new vehicles or fine individual drivers for bad service, or insist on standardized courses they must take -- it has instead suggested customers will pay more for a premium service.

This idea was completely slammed by the Competition Commission, which released a 90-page document to lawmakers in the Legislative Council today. The competition watchdog said having a franchised taxi scheme where the starting rate at 50 percent more is hardly a benefit to the riders.

"While there are likely to be some consumers less sensitive about the fare they pay, it makes no economic or common sense to assume they will demand higher fares," it said.

The plan was to have some 600 franchised taxis or 3 percent of exiting cabs in the city offering this premium service. Who would pay for a more expensive taxi ride? No one!

Many people would rather have the option to use Uber

The commission suggested the taxi franchises come up with service proposals set at a minimum level. 

However, the government said it believed the franchised taxi services would offer better protection, more assured service quality, and more transparency on fares to passengers than existing illegal online hire car services.

While the government means well, people just want to get from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible without having to sit in a smoky-smelling vehicle with seats that sink one foot down, or be forced to listen to the taxi driver chatting to his friends, or listen to silly talk shows on the radio. And also don't get me started on why all the taxis in Hong Kong seem to be unavailable from 3.30pm to 4.30pm because the drivers are handing the taxi to another one.  

Hong Kong Taxi Owners' Association chairman Wong Po-keung did not think the scheme would meet the government's objectives to improve the service quality of existing cab drivers.

Some drivers have too many distractions

"It fails to look at the root cause of poor service. We have submitted many different proposals to the government in the past four years but it has turned a deaf ear," Wong said. "It is like refusing to heal a patient and creating a new person instead."

We agree. Civil servants once again are completely out of touch with the reality of the situation and are bending over backwards to not deal with the problems in the taxi industry head-on.