Special E-toll Service Points Set Up For Taxis

Transport Commissioner Rosanna Law on Friday said she is confident government assistance for drivers over a new electronic toll payment system will ensure the scheme can be rolled out in May, with the authorities to open two dedicated service counters for cabbies next week.

From Monday, taxi owners and drivers can visit the new service points at government car parks in Sheung Wan and Tsuen Wan, in addition to four existing customer service centres, for their applications for vehicle tags and driver cards.

They must reserve a spot online or through the HKeToll app to visit the service points, which will open daily from 10am to 9pm. The toll service provider, meanwhile, will send people to nine liquified petroleum gas stations to help taxi owners and drivers with their reservations.

Speaking to reporters, Law said more than 13,000 taxis out of about 18,000 in Hong Kong are equipped with vehicle tags so far, while over 27,000 drivers have either bought driver cards or registered online for the scheme.

She said service locations across the city can help hundreds of people each day, adding that officials will announce more details next week on setting up 20 consultation counters to help those who have difficulties in applying for a tag.

"There are still more than two months to go before the launching of the HKeToll at Tsing Sha Control Area," she said.

"We are confident that with the series of assistance measures, and with the series of new service centres, consultation centres, we will be able to assist all of the vehicle owners and taxi drivers who would like to get a vehicle tag and their taxi driver cards, or log on to our system."

Godwin Ching, a spokesman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, welcomed the new arrangement.

"It can definitely reduce the pressure on the trade, and ease the concerns of the taxi owners and drivers. By doing so, it can buy time for better preparation too," he told RTHK.

"The taxi trade has a better understanding now. In addition, it helps a lot with the extension of the launch data. In future, we hope the government can have more and deeper communication with the taxi stakeholders."

The HKeToll system was meant to make its debut at the Tsing Sha Control Area on February 26, but the launch has been pushed back to May 7 after the government received complaints from motorists, taxi groups and lawmakers.

Transport officials say there are around 800,000 vehicle owners in Hong Kong and by Thursday, they had sent out more than 460,000 tags.