HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s taxi industry scrapped a plan for 1,000 of its drivers to go on strike on Nov 22, after the government pledged to crack down more severely on illegal ride-hailing services threatening the trade.
Industry leaders “temporarily called off the strike” following officials’ offer of “an olive branch”, Mr Wong Yu Ting, chairman of the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association, told local media late on Nov 21.
The strike had been aimed at drawing attention to the government’s inaction against app-based services like Uber, Mr Wong said.
It was also to express cabbies’ unhappiness over a government-proposed demerit-point system to penalise them for refusing hires, overcharging passengers and other forms of misconduct, he added.
The difficulties faced by the taxi trade have received little public sympathy. Instead, reports of the planned – and now scrapped – strike drew a barrage of criticism over Hong Kong cabbies’ service standards.
Mr Alex Liu, managing partner of Hong Kong law firm Boase Cohen & Collins and a panel chairman of the city’s transport tribunal, said: “Unfortunately, the taxi service in Hong Kong has a poor reputation.
“Many customers have first-hand experience of drivers being rude, overcharging, cherry-picking passengers, or taking circuitous routes. There are also concerns over safety, given widely reported accidents involving elderly drivers. Hence, the lack of public sympathy and rising number of complaints.”
Online, Internet users echoed Mr Liu’s views.
“It’s a bit challenging to feel overly sympathetic to taxi drivers when they refuse to adopt electronic payments, there’s an insufficient number of taxis during peak periods, and their HK Taxi app allows them to pick and choose fares, and clients have to resort to bribes,” netizen Josh Lynch wrote on social media platform X.
On Reddit, one user advised cabbies to “examine your own poor service before criticising Uber for stealing your job”.
“Perhaps if the taxi drivers… were polite, professional, and got you to your destination via the most efficient route safely, then ride-hailing services wouldn’t be an issue… It’s time the Hong Kong taxi industry stepped up, and if it can’t, it should step aside,” reader Leslie B. wrote in response to a South China Morning Post report online.
And upon hearing news on the night of Nov 21 that the planned strike had been called off, another X user quipped: “But the taxi association did a great job of uniting Hong Kongers in their shared frustration of the taxi industry. All was not lost.”
Cabs losing out to Uber
Hong Kong’s cabbies have long been notorious for their poor service attitudes. A 2023 survey found that rudeness topped the list of complaints against the city’s taxi drivers.
It is common for them to refuse rides if the requested destination is not to their liking. They have also been known to demand exorbitant fares from unsuspecting tourists or during inclement weather.
They are also falling into obsolescence, as most taxis in Hong Kong accept only cash. Lawmakers’ calls in recent years to get the vehicles outfitted with digital payment systems have been met with strong resistance, as the cabbies seek to avoid taxes and their industry leaders demand that the installation charges be passed on to passengers.
Taxi drivers, especially elderly ones, have also been criticised for being a road safety hazard. Taxis were involved in one out of six traffic accidents in the first eight months of 2023 – the most of any form of public transport – according to government data.
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2023-11-22 07:55:00Z
CBMigQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdHJhaXRzdGltZXMuY29tL2FzaWEvZWFzdC1hc2lhL2hrLXMtcnVkZS10YXhpLWRyaXZlcnMtdGhyZWF0LXRvLXN0cmlrZS1jYXN0cy1zcG90bGlnaHQtb24tY2l0eS1zLXJpZGUtaGFpbGluZy1wb2xpY3nSAQA
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