Government announces Taxi Fleet Licence application results
The Government announced today (July 31) that the assessment panel formed by representatives from the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the Transport Department (TD) has completed the assessment of Taxi Fleet Licence applications. The five applicants awarded with Taxi Fleet Licences, in alphabetical order of the company names, are Big Boss Taxi Company Limited, CMG Fleet Management Limited, Sino Development (International) Company Limited, SynCab Service Limited and Tai Wo Management Limited.
The TD received a total of 15 applications during the application period, three of which did not meet the application requirements. After assessing the 12 applications that met the requirements, the above five applicants obtaining the highest scores were selected by the assessment panel. Conditional grants of the Taxi Fleet Licence were issued to them accordingly, and they are required to complete the gearing-up work and commence services within one year. By that time, each taxi fleet will be issued with a Taxi Fleet Licence with a validity period of five years. The TD will actively promote and assist the taxi fleet operators to commence operations as soon as possible.
Number and vehicle type of fleet taxis
The selected applicants include three urban fleets and two mixed fleets, with a fleet size of 300 to 1 000 taxis each, providing a total of over 3 500 taxis, which account for nearly 20 per cent of the total number of taxis in Hong Kong.
The selected applicants will deploy about 1 500 new vehicles in total as fleet taxis at the time of service commencement, accounting for over 40 per cent of the total number of fleet taxis. The vehicle age of the remaining fleet taxis will not exceed three years. A certain number of wheelchair-accessible taxis and premium taxis, as well as electric taxis of more than one-fourth of the fleet, will be put into service in phases for each taxi fleet to cater for the diverse travel needs of individuals and promote green transport.
Driver and vehicle monitoring
To ensure the service quality of drivers and driving safety, the selected applicants will provide appropriate training to fleet drivers and formulate measures to monitor the driving behaviour and service performance of the drivers. They will also maintain an employer-employee relationship with a certain number of drivers in their fleets to enhance the stability of the fleet driver group and create a better working environment. Meanwhile, safety devices, including the Global Positioning System, dash camera, and driver monitoring system (equipped with functions including lane departure and improper driving behaviour detection), will be installed inside the vehicle to ensure driving safety.
Customer service and fleet dispatch arrangement
All taxi fleets will provide online hailing services. Members of the public can choose appropriate vehicle types (such as general taxis, premium taxis, wheelchair-accessible taxis) through the online hailing platforms (such as mobile applications and websites) provided by the taxi fleets according to their personal needs. All fleet taxis will provide multiple electronic payment means for passengers' convenience. In addition, all taxi fleets will provide customer service hotlines and different electronic communication channels for passengers to rate driver services. A complaint handling mechanism will be provided to handle customer enquiries and complaints in a timely manner.
A Government spokesman said, "We are encouraged to see the trade's active participation in the Taxi Fleet Licence applications. The taxi fleets proposed by different selected applicants have their respective characteristics and highlights. The selected applicants are not only traditional taxi operators, but also groups formed by taxi operators and taxi driver associations or other members of the transport sector. We look forward to their new ideas to the taxi fleets with their rich experience in operating public transport services.
"In addition, we are pleased to see that the selected applicants attach great importance to passenger safety and quality services, and expect they would set a good example for the taxi fleet regime. By playing an exemplary and leading role in the trade, the taxi fleets can help boost passengers' confidence in the taxi services, thereby gradually improving the development prospect for the trade."
The application period of the Taxi Fleet Licence was from April 12 to May 31. The assessment panel selected the five applicants with the highest score based on criteria comprising management capability of applicant, vehicle quality and safety-related equipment/devices, management and quality of fleet drivers, service level and customer service, online hailing and fleet dispatch plan, as well as daily operation, maintenance and contingency plan.