Hong Kong steps up support as premium taxi fleets face driver shortage

More than 2,000 fleet taxis currently in service but number still falls short of government’s target of 3,500

A top Hong Kong transport official has pledged to step up efforts to help the city’s premium taxi fleets recruit drivers, conceding that the number of vehicles on the road remains about one-third below target a year after the scheme was launched.

As the five taxi fleets offering premium service marked a year of operations in July, the government said on Tuesday that more than 2,000 fleet taxis and about 2,400 drivers were currently in service.

As of the end of May, the five fleets had completed about 4.2 million trips in total.

However, the number of fleet taxis still falls short of the government’s target of 3,500.

The five licensed operators are SynCab, Big Boss Taxi, Amigo, Big Bee Taxi and Joie.

Commissioner for Transport Tse Wing-yee said the government had been actively promoting their development, but acknowledged that operators must “step up their efforts” in recruitment to attract more new blood to the industry.

“We have specific requirements regarding taxi fleets. I believe they will continue to improve,” she told a radio programme. “The number of fleet taxis has been steadily increasing, with individual fleets already reaching 85 per cent of their committed capacity.”