Taxi fares to rise steeply

Hong Kong taxi flagfall will cost HK$3 more from July 17, taking the minimum fare in urban taxis to $27, green New Territories cabs to $23.50 and blue Lantau taxis to $22.

Five years after the last fare increase in 2017, the Executive Council yesterday passed the fare rise proposal, which will see flagfall increases of 12.5 percent for urban taxis, 14.6 percent for New Territories cabs and 15.8 percent for Lantau taxis.

At the moment, flagfall is $24 for urban taxis, $20.5 for the New Territories and $19 for Lantau cabs.

After the first two kilometers, fares will cost 20 cents more per meter tick for every 200 meters, and after nine kilometers the fare rise will be 10 cents per tick. Other additional charges will remain unchanged.

For urban taxis, that would mean each 200 meters after the first two kilometers will cost $1.9 after the price surge instead of $1.7, and after the ninth kilometer of the journey each tick will cost $1.3 instead of $1.2.

Each tick for NT taxis will cost $1.7 instead of $1.5 from the second to eighth kilometer of the journey, while it will cost $1.3 instead of $1.2 per tick afterwards.

It will cost Lantau taxi passengers $1.7 per tick instead of $1.5 for the second to 20th kilometer, and $1.5 instead of $1.4 per tick afterwards.

The government estimates the overall fare rise for urban taxis will be 11.54 percent, 13.02 percent for NT and 13.83 percent for Lantau cabs.

The increases approved by the Executive Council are just half the amount the taxi industry asked for in September 2018, as it asked for a $6 to $7 increase at flagfall.

A spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said the government has taken into account various factors in processing the taxi fare adjustment applications as it is mindful that the fare rise will bring extra transport expense to passengers.

They includes changes in revenue and operating costs of taxi operators, public acceptability and the fare differential between taxis and other modes of public transport.

The pandemic and the increasing operating costs prompted a decrease in the average monthly net income of taxi drivers last year, which was lower than the average monthly salary of the transport trade, the spokesman said. "The government therefore has recommended lower rates of fare increases as compared with the trade's proposal," he added.

Chow Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, expressed his disappointment as the government approved only half the increase sought by the industry.

"We will consider applying for a price hike once again, as we have not increased our price for five years, and in the past few years the insurance premium for taxis has doubled to $200,000 and repair costs have also increased by 30 percent. The government is simply not facing up to the problem," Chow said.

Nicholas Hon Chun-yin, the Democratic Party's spokesman on transport policy, said the rate of increase is lower than the taxi industry's proposal, which the public would find more acceptable.

Although the taxi fare increase was generally welcomed by the industry, Hon said the taxi industry is still facing difficulties - not only because citizens refrain from going out during the epidemic but also due to increases in other costs, such as fuel prices.

Citizen Cheung found the flagfall expensive, as he said there was nothing he could do after Exco approved the price increase "but it would have been better if they decided not to approve it."

Another citizen, Chan, said: "It is not actually that much for those who need to take taxis. Taxi drivers are also making a living. I think we should be considerate."

Taxi driver Shen believed the fare rise would not lose patronage: "Those who are used to taking taxis will keep taking taxis. It is not an outrageous hike in my own point of view."

At press time Uber, which also provides taxi-hailing services, did not have a comment regarding the fare hike.