Govt Aims HK$36 Opening Fare For Luxury Cabs

The government has told lawmakers that it is planning to fix the minimum fare for a planned luxury cab service at HK$36.

Officials said they aim to put three luxury taxi franchises out to tender, to bring 600 premium cabs onto the streets of Hong Kong.

The starting fares to hire them should be 50 percent more than regular urban taxis, meaning the flag fall would be HK$36 in current prices.

The officials said the franchise conditions will specify vehicle types, facilities to be provided and the arrangements for a mobile booking service, safety features and devices, as well as the training required for drivers.

The bidding firms should also have a market capitalisation of HK$50 million and deposit HK$5 million as a guarantee to the government.

But Civic Party lawmaker Jeremy Tam raised doubts about the implementation of the plan and said the government needs to explain how it is going to work.

Tam said drivers are supposed to get an additional licence to drive these luxury cabs and to get 600 drivers trained will take time.

DAB lawmaker Ben Chan, who chairs Legco's transport panel, was also sceptical.

"The problem is Uber is working very well, however it is illegal," he said. The government is trying to use the same model to solve the problem, Chan said.