Travellers May Take Designated Taxis To Quarantine

Travellers flying in to the Hong Kong International Airport can choose to take designated taxis to their quarantine hotels at their own expense from Monday.

The government said the taxi trade has arranged 100 taxis to provide transport services from 8am to 2am daily.

It said the move is intended to cater for the rising demand for point-to-point transport services in view of an increasing number of inbound travellers.

Passengers have to pay fares according to the meter and shoulder any additional charges such as tunnel tolls and luggage fees.

As a precautionary measure, passengers must only use the back seats of the taxis.

One of the cab drivers who signed up for the new service told RTHK that he felt safe carrying inbound travellers, as they’ve already tested negative on arrival at the airport.

“If we drive passengers on the streets, we don’t know whether they are confirmed with Covid. I’m not worried at all, this plan is even safer,” he said, adding that more than a hundred people had already used the service on Monday morning.

Speaking at the airport, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung said more designated cabs could be made available if there’s a high demand for the service.

"I'm sure that this will meet the demand of some of the landing passengers. We will review the demand and adjust the service level to suit the demand," he said.

Meanwhile, Lam said the frequency of free-of-charge coaches taking inbound travellers to their quarantine hotels will also be increased to shorten their overall journey time.

There are currently 18 coach routes taking passengers to about 70 designated quarantine hotels.

The government says each route covers three to five hotels and the travelling time of each trip is under two hours.