More than 47,000 taxi drivers have adopted the commercial version of the Octopus app or equipped their cabs with mobile card readers ahead of new electronic payment regulations taking effect in Hong Kong on Wednesday, transport authorities have said. The new measures require cab drivers to provide at least two e-payment options, as part of…
Hong Kong cabbies are counting down to the end of the “keep the change” tradition as the industry prepares for a mandatory shift from cash-only payments to electronic settlements. In the weeks leading up to April 1, taxi drivers are racing to install e-payment tools, while service providers say 90 per cent of the cabbies…
More than 40,000 Hong Kong taxi drivers have registered to accept Octopus payments, ahead of an electronic payment mandate that will take effect next month, with a sector representative urging authorities to exercise discretion during the initial phase of the roll-out. On April 1, all cabbies will be required to offer at least two electronic…
E-payment service provider AlipayHK will continue to waive fees for Hong Kong taxi drivers to encourage them to use its system, with the company saying the penetration rate has remained low due to cabbies’ persistent reluctance. Simon Leung, alternate chief executive of AlipayHK, said that the company had implemented several measures to boost adoption. These…
The Hong Kong government is facing mounting calls to mandate stricter health checks on elderly cabbies, but the taxi industry has pushed back and demanded that drivers be fully subsidised for annual medical screenings. The taxi trade, under fire after a number of crashes involving cabbies in their eighties in recent years, also warned on…
Hong Kong should find a way to allow the taxi trade and ride-hailing services to compete and complement each other, even though cab owners blame competition from unregulated platforms for lowering the value of their licences, lawmakers have said. Debate on the way forward for the trade followed calls from some industry leaders for the…