Birth pangs for taxi service JOIE in test run

Phoebe Poon

JOIE, one of five newly licensed taxi fleets, experienced a bumpy start after officially commencing trial operations on Monday evening with 200 taxis.

Passengers must book rides an hour in advance and within 24 hours. A reporter from Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister publication, had booking attempts canceled eight times yesterday morning.

The reporter hoped to book a 9am ride from Wong Tai Sin to Tseung Kwan O, with fares starting at HK$159.70.

After eight attempts from 8am, none were successful, with the reporter being charged for all attempts. Refunds are supposed to be processed within seven working days following the cancellation.

The reporter tried different options including the "standard four-seater" and "premium six-seat taxi," but all bookings were canceled as the time slot was said to be fully booked.

Upon calling JOIE's customer service hotline, the reporter was told that there were fewer vehicles during morning peak hours as the system had only launched the night before, encouraging more attempts for a better chance. With their help, the reporter successfully paired with a driver at 8.45am and boarded at 9.30am.

The fare for the ride was HK$159.70 for the standard four-seat and HK$173.60 for the premium six-seat.

In contrast, UberX and Uber Taxi charges HK$164.60 and HK$169.50 respectively for the same ride with a four-seater, while UberXL costs HK$231.40 for a six-seat option, nearly a third more than JOIE.

Amap Taxi offers a four-seater ride for HK$130.90, which should make it the cheapest ride-hailing service, but its six-seat option ranges from HK$229 to HK$260, comparable to UberXL.

Aaron Ng Hoi-shan, managing director at JOIE parent company Tai Wo Management, said he would encourage drivers to accept orders through JOIE, stressing there would be no prohibition on using other online ride-hailing platforms.

Regarding the policy of allowing reservations at least one hour in advance and the relatively small number of vehicles, Ng said the arrangement was made in hopes of giving the public an opportunity to experience the service, particularly for those carrying bulky luggage and wheelchairs.