Hong Kong cabbies face mounting misconduct complaints

HONG KONG - There has been a significant surge in complaints about the alleged misconduct of Hong Kong taxi drivers over the past five years, primarily revolving around accusations of overcharging and refusing or neglecting to accept hires, the city’s transportation chief said on June 19.

Overcharging complaints received by the Transport Department and the Hong Kong Police Force in 2023 increased by 131 per cent compared with the previous year, totalling 1,374 complaints.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai Hung revealed the figures in a written response to a legislator’s inquiry about alleged misconduct and illegal activities in the taxi industry.

Similarly, complaints related to drivers refusing or neglecting to accept a hire reached 1,769, indicating an 89 per cent increase from the previous year.

The two departments also received 208 complaints regarding taxi drivers refusing to drive passengers to their requested destinations, reflecting a 35 per cent increase compared with the previous year.

Additionally, there were 1,201 complaints regarding taxi drivers taking routes other than the most direct and practical ones, indicating an increase of 73 per cent from 2022.

Mr Lam said that the police have been adopting various effective measures to combat taxi drivers’ alleged illegal acts.

In 2023, police conducted 57 prosecutions for offences related to taxi drivers – a more than four-fold increase compared with the previous year’s 13 cases. All 57 cases resulted in convictions.

The government will continue efforts to regulate the industry. It will also continually raise the public’s awareness of the unlawful behaviour of taxi drivers. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK