Gov’t to launch tender for up to 500 taxi licenses

The government will soon launch a public tender for common taxi licenses of eight years’ duration. The tender was initially thought to reissue some 300 licenses that are currently due to expire, but Transport Bureau (DSAT) director Kelvin Lam said that the number might actually be up to 500 according to the needs of locals and tourists, which the government is currently evaluating.

The news came at a press conference with the Executive Council (ExCo) that took place last Friday at the government’s headquarters. At this press conference, the government presented the administrative regulation governing the rules for the tender.

“Previously we wanted to launch more than 300 licenses, and we are currently still assessing the demand among citizens and tourists. In future, it might not be 300 but 500, but we can only know this after the study is concluded,” Lam said.

The tender can only open the day after the administrative regulation is published in the government’s official gazette, which should happen soon.

According to DSAT, there are currently approximately 1,900 taxi licenses attributed and valid, of which about 300 will expire at the end of this year.

According to officials from the taxi sector, there are far fewer licenses currently in use than what the government estimates. This is due to several factors including drivers that have left the profession and found another occupation during the pandemic. During the pandemic, the industry was struggling to keep taxis operating with no tourists in Macau and little demand from local residents.

At the press conference, Lam also raised the possibility of opening a new tender to attribute more licenses for the so-called “radio taxis.” These are taxis that operate via a phone call or mobile application order, although he did not give a clear timeframe on when the government expects this new tender to be launched.