Taxi Council Eyes Govt Aid For Disabled Passengers

The Hong Kong Taxi Council said on Thursday that it is planning to submit proposals to the government, asking it to provide a subsidy for passengers with disabilities to use specially equipped taxis more often.

Some of the taxi firms charge up to HK$300 per hour for using vehicles with wheelchair access.

The council said a survey they carried out found an overwhelming majority supported the subsidy idea.

The council's chairman, Hung Wing-tat, said that specially-trained drivers spend a significant amount of time helping passengers who use wheelchairs board their vehicles.

Hung said they spend extra time taking in or letting out theses passenger. "So it needs somebody to pay the cost. I wouldn't say it is subsidised," he said. "We call it an additional service."

The council said the quarterly survey also found that passengers' satisfaction over their taxi rides has shown improvement.

Hang Seng University's Associate Dean of School of Decision Sciences, Collin Wong, who helped conduct the survey told RTHK's Joanne Wong that 25 percent of the 1,200 taxi customers they surveyed said they were "very satisfied" with the service.