Taxi 'chips' to help ease strain of stranded airport passengers

Passengers at the airport will be allocated chips enabling them to take rest elsewhere when they are queuing for taxis during typhoons, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung said.

The arrangement came after over 10,000 passengers were stranded at the airport for hours during typhoon Koinu that hit Hong Kong last month.

Additionally, airport express services were suspended when typhoon signal No 9 was hoisted and stayed for almost five hours.

In a written reply to lawmaker Benson Luk Hon-man of Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, Lam said enhancing crowd management at the airport during adverse weather is an effective strategy for improvement.

"The aspects of such enhancement will include exploring ways to inform passengers of the typhoon and road traffic conditions as soon as possible, and making better arrangements for them to wait for the resumption of transport services at the airport terminal in a safe and comfortable manner," Lam said.

"In this regard, as some passengers may still opt for taxis during typhoons, the Airport Authority Hong Kong will, in the future, allocate chips when there are a large number of passengers waiting for taxis, so that they may take rest elsewhere at the airport and check their waiting status through mobile phones without having to queue up in person," he added.

Lam also said the administration has requested the MTR thoroughly study the rail suspension options under signal No 9. It asked the rail company to review whether it can improve its information dissemination, as well as other relevant contingency plans, in order to minimize the impact on Hongkongers and tourists under the premise of safety.

Currently when typhoon signal No 9 or above is hoisted, MTR suspends the rail services on all open sections for safety reasons, while maintaining limited services underground.

Lam said suspending open sections under typhoon signal 9 is a mechanism developed after comprehensive studies and deliberations, due to safety considerations of railway system design, and experience gained from previous incidents during typhoons.

The suspension of open section services is to prevent trains, overhead lines and tracks from being affected by strong winds and external objects that may lead to incidents and jeopardize the safety of passengers and railways.

But Lam said authorities will ask MTR to consider providing train services to large interchange stations instead of suspending all open sections of the railway service after many people were stranded during the recent typhoon.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com