Hong Kong to set up taxi driver penalty system to punish over-charging, refusing hire
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong will set up a penalty points system for taxi drivers next year designed at targeting drivers who overcharge or refuse to take passengers, among other offences, the government has said.
The Legislative Council (LegCo), the city’s legislature, on Thursday passed the Taxi-Driver-Offence Points Bill. It penalises various taxi-related offences using a points system and will see taxi drivers who incur 15 or more points within a two-year period disqualified from driving a taxi for three months.
Lam Sai-hung, the transportation chief, said the new legislation would come into effect late next year. He added that the Transport Advisory Committee received thousands of complaints annually related to taxi-drivers over the past three years, underlining public demand for the improvement of taxi services.
“Effective measures should be implemented to deter malpractices by taxi drivers, to combat the black sheep in the trade,” Lam said in Cantonese during the LegCo meeting.
He added that the penalty points would only be incurred after a conviction in court. The points system will not have an effect on the majority of law-abiding taxi-drivers, he said.
According to the bill, refusing to accept a hire and overcharging were among the most serious offences, worth 10 points each.
Not choosing the most direct route during a hire, or soliciting business by offering a discount on fares, would each incur five points. Refusing to issue a receipt or not setting the meter properly would be worth three points.
If a taxi-driver incurs 10 or more points within a two-year period, they will be required to complete a taxi service improvement course at their own cost.
Those with 15 or more points within a two-year period will be liable to a disqualification order which will bar them from driving a taxi for three months for the first disqualification. A six-month disqualification will be imposed on repeat offenders.
| Offence | Points |
| Wilfully refusing or neglecting to accept a hire | 10 |
| Refusing or neglecting to drive a taxi to the place indicated by the hirer | 10 |
| Overcharging | 10 |
| Defacing, damaging or altering a taximeter | 10 |
| Driving to a destination other than by the most direct practicable route | 5 |
| Permitting any person other than the hirer to enter the taxi without the consent of the hirer | 5 |
| Deceiving or refusing to inform a passenger or intending passenger as to the proper fare and route to any place | 5 |
| Soliciting | 5 |
| Refusing or neglecting to carry the number of passengers required by the hirer | 3 |
| Refusing or neglecting to issue a receipt | 3 |
| Not setting taximeter to recording position | 3 |
LegCo passed the bill with the support of 68 lawmakers, while three voted against it and 13 abstained from the vote. Lawmaker Frankie Yick of the transport sector, who voted against the bill, said the 11 offences were already covered by existing legislations, and the new points system amounted to a “double penalty” for taxi drivers.
Yick said the bill would worsen an existing taxi driver shortage, adding that other means of public transport were not subject to the same level of scrutiny. He also accused the government of not properly enforcing regulations against illegal ride-hailing services, which threatened the income of taxi-drivers.
Premium taxi fleets
LegCo on Wednesday passed a separate bill to introduce premium taxi fleets, six-seated taxis, stricter penalties for taxi drivers who provided illegal ride-hailing services, and a two-tier penalty system for four taxi-related offences.
Authorities said in July when they first submitted the bill to LegCo that the premium taxi fleets would serve as platforms to regulate service quality. There are currently 18,163 taxi licences in Hong Kong, owned by nearly 9,000 license holders, according to the bill.
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