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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
Question:
Since the authorities invited tenders for 10 Lantau taxi licences in 1997, the number of Lantau taxi licences has remained at 50 over the years. However, Tung Chung New Town of Lantau Island has continued to develop rapidly during the same period, and its current population is approaching 100 000. I have received from time to time complaints from Tung Chung residents that there are not enough taxis on Lantau Island and, as a result, it is often hard for them to find a Lantau taxi to take. Therefore, they hope that the authorities will issue more Lantau taxi licences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the reasons why it has not issued additional Lantau taxi licences since 1997;
(2) of the number of complaints received from members of the public by the authorities in the past five years about the inadequate taxi services on Lantau Island, and how the authorities responded to such complaints;
(3) given that the Secretary for Transport and Housing indicated at the Council meeting of November 13, 2013 that the Government would consider several established criteria in deciding whether new taxi licences should be issued, i.e. (i) the public demand for taxi services, (ii) the operation of the taxi industry and (iii) the possible impacts on traffic if there were additional taxis, of the specific indicators for such criteria; and
(4) given that the population of Lantau Island is anticipated to reach 267 000 upon the implementation of its development plan, whether the Government will issue additional Lantau taxi licences correspondingly; if it will, of the specific timetable and details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The reply to the four parts of Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki's question is as follows:
Taxis provide personalised, point-to-point and more comfortable public transport services to the public. With a daily patronage of about 1 million, they complement the services of mass carriers such as railway and franchised buses, and play a key role in our public transport system.
Lantau taxis have been in operation since 1982. In the past, economic activities and daily passenger transport demand on Lantau Island were mainly concentrated on south Lantau. Lantau taxis thus used to primarily serve residents on south Lantau. Following the opening of Lantau Link and North Lantau Expressway and in view of the developments on north Lantau such as the Tung Chung New Town and Chek Lap Kok Airport (the Airport), etc., the Government arranged both urban and Lantau taxis to serve north Lantau to meet the demand for taxi service in the new development area. At the same time, Lantau taxis maintain their key function of serving south Lantau. Currently, there are 50 Lantau taxis operating on Lantau Island. There are also over 4 000 urban taxi trips serving north Lantau including the Airport every day.
Every year, the Transport Department (TD) conducts surveys on the overall service level of Lantau taxis in order to better understand passenger demand for such taxis and their operating conditions. The surveys are conducted vide on-site observations, as well as collection of views from the taxi trade and from passengers. The survey results of 2013 collectively indicate that the waiting time for a Lantau or urban taxi at the taxi stand outside Tung Chung MTR Station on weekdays (from 7am to 7pm) is about a few minutes on average. Notwithstanding, we notice that the waiting time for Lantau taxis is comparatively longer during certain peak periods on holidays (especially during festive seasons). This is because of the influx of visitors which generates more passenger trips between Tung Chung and south Lantau, especially during the morning and afternoon peak periods, on those days.
Separately, there are 20 franchised bus routes serving north Lantau or plying between north and south Lantau during weekdays and holidays. These routes are able to provide adequate service during both weekdays and holidays to meet passenger demand. As the overall public transport services on Lantau Island should be able to meet passenger demand in general, the Government has not issued new Lantau taxi licences for some time.
In the past five years, TD received from the public an average of about 17 complaints per year concerning the service level of Lantau taxis. The department keeps a record of these complaints, takes appropriate follow-up action(s) and strengthens its communication with the taxi trade so as to make appropriate arrangements to cater for the passenger demand at different locations and periods. For instance, the Lantau Taxi Association (the Association) will remind its member drivers to flexibly deploy taxis to first serve passengers waiting at the taxi stands during peak periods to enhance service efficiency. Depending on the passenger demand at the Airport, the Airport Authority will also liaise with the Association where necessary for appropriate vehicle deployment.
As for the issue of new Lantau taxi licences, taking into account the need for effective operation of the public transport system as well as road capacity, it has been the Government's established policy to issue new taxi licences as and when necessary having regard to factors including the demand for taxi services, operating condition of the taxi trade and likely impact of the increase in the number of taxis on traffic conditions. We are mindful that the future development on Lantau Island (such as the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in 2016) and projected growth of local population and in visitor number would both give rise to additional transport demand. TD will thus continue to closely monitor the situation, review the service level of public transport on Lantau Island at an appropriate juncture, and consider service enhancement as the need may arise. Meanwhile, TD will continue to listen to the views from various parties, closely monitor the development of taxi trade and taxi service level (including that of Lantau taxis), and consider whether new licences need to be issued according to the established policy.
Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:56
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