Some passengers have been unable to use any mandatory e-payment options on Hong Kong taxis, as cabbies cited faulty machines or battery problems, reasons that customers have deemed as excuses as the “cash is king” mentality persisted. Experts said this week that many taxi drivers still held a deep-seated fear of having a traceable income…
More than 40,000 Hong Kong taxi drivers have adopted major electronic payment platforms AlipayHK and WeChat Pay HK, easing a protracted pain point for mainland Chinese visitors who are expected to arrive in droves during the coming Ching Ming Festival break. AlipayHK, a joint venture of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which…
Some Hong Kong taxi drivers have yet to install e-payment options even after the city’s new mandatory electronic payment for taxis went into effect, highlighting a digital divide challenge facing cabbies, the South China Morning Post has observed. Starting on 1 April, the Transport Department mandated all drivers to offer passengers at least two electronic…
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 authorities will launch advertisments and a transport guide to help elderly residents adapt to the revised HK$2 (26 US cents) transport fare scheme coming into effect next Friday, according to the city’s welfare chief. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Tuesday said the government would publicise changes to the scheme…
The Hong Kong Red Cross has raised HK$530 million (US$67.8 million) to provide emergency and long-term support to residents affected by the deadly Tai Po fire, with the NGO expecting all its relief and recovery efforts to be finished in five years. More than three months on from the Wang Fuk Court blaze that killed…
Mandatory e-payment in Hong Kong taxis could attract more residents and visitors to use the service, as about 90 per cent of drivers are ready to meet the requirement ahead of its implementation next month, an industry representative has said. Ryan Wong Cheuk-pong, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi Council, said on Tuesday that drivers…
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…
Sammy Kam Chi-sum, the primary architect of Hong Kong’s contactless Octopus cards, is retiring after nearly 30 years with the company at the end of this month, before what he says is an inevitable transition to a technology that will not even require tapping for certain transactions. Octopus’ chief operations officer began his journey in…