Lawmaker Ron Lam leads push for ride-hailing services

Macau’s taxi system has long been criticized for its outdated technology and unreliable services.

Unlike neighboring Hong Kong and mainland China, Macau has yet to embrace ride-hailing platforms like Uber, Didi and Grab.

Macau’s traditional taxi fleet has been dwindling, with only 1,501 taxis as of March 31, a decrease of 345 vehicles from the second quarter of 2021 during the pandemic.

To TDM, lawmaker Ron Lam has highlighted taxi shortages, particularly during peak hours, as a key issue that could be alleviated by the introduction of licensed ride-hailing services.

Lam has noted the situation is expected to worsen as hundreds of taxi licenses are set to expire, and the government has only authorized 500 new licenses to begin operations next year (January). 

The lack of modern transportation options has drawn criticism from both locals and visitors.

The inability of foreign tourists to effectively use the local radio taxi app due to its limited registration options and poor location services has been raised many times.

The MassPlus app, which is the primary platform for booking taxis, only allows registration using cell phone numbers from Macau, Hong Kong or mainland China.

This restriction significantly hinders international visitors in booking a ride in Macau, making it difficult for them to navigate the city efficiently.

Lawmaker Lam has emphasized that addressing these transportation challenges through the legalization and integration of ride-hailing services could significantly enhance Macau’s mobility infrastructure, providing a more efficient and reliable service for all.

However, the government has been hesitant to introduce such services, citing concerns about the impact on the traditional taxi industry.

Earlier this year, the lawmaker has also expressed doubts about the local radio taxi’s ability to cater to foreign visitors, due to its unreliable location platform and outdated means of communication.

To the Times, Lam commented on reports of the latest radio taxi app allegedly excluding non-mainland and non-Hong Kong visitors.

Despite being named ‘MassPlus,’ the app cannot be found when searching with that name on the Apple App Store. However, a search using the Chinese name yielded better results. Additionally, using ‘Macau taxi’ as the keywords led to the radio taxi app. Nadia Shaw