DSAT: No final decision yet on yellow taxis

Macau’s Transport Bureau (DSAT) has not yet revealed if it will renew licenses granted to Vang Iek Radio Taxis, the company currently operating under the more commonly known name of “Yellow Taxis.” In a reply via email to the Times, DSAT said it is currently in close talks with “Vang Iek” to find ways to improve service quality.
The 100 licenses for special taxis are due to expire on November 6. “The government understands there is a public demand for radio taxis which provide service solely to call-in clients. Therefore, it is carrying out a final assessment about the operation and public demand for this type of taxi,” DSAT said.
Stressing that the Macau government is handling the matter “in a practical and realistic manner,” DSAT added that it has not yet reached a final decision on whether to renew Vang Iek’s licenses or not. “The government will try its best to give an explanation of the situation in the shortest possible time,” it stated.
DSAT recalled that 200 new black taxi licenses, which will be in operation by the end of this year, “will work as a supplement” for the existing taxi service.
Furthermore, the Transport Bureau said it is still analyzing opinions, which were collected through a public consultation on the revision of current legislation regulating taxi services.
The revision of the law, they said, will adjust and define the policies behind special taxi licenses, simultaneously improving their licensing scheme in order to better respond to public demand.
Last February, the government extended Vang Iek’s license for nine more months, stipulating specific rules and new conditions. These included the fact that the company could only run 40 taxis operating normally, and that they could only take passengers within Macau’s streets. However, sixty percent of these taxis would have to operate on an on-call basis, meaning that they are not allowed to take passengers who attempt to hail them.
Citizens have nonetheless complained of difficulties in requesting a yellow taxi via their call center.