Melinda Chan says she is receptive to taxi fare hike

Melinda Chan

Lawmaker Melinda Chan expressed her understanding regarding the appeal issued by the city’s taxi drivers to increase taxi fares, according to a report by Macao Daily News.

Chan pointed out that the last time the government increased taxi fares was in 2014. She said she could understand the industry’s proposal as the government has increased other fees during this time.

However, the lawmaker expects taxi professionals to improve their service quality if they want residents to feel that increasing the fare is reasonable.

Chan noted that there are only a few drivers out there providing poor services and making people feel unhappy about the service provided by Macau’s taxis, and emphasized that the industry should not be defined by these particular drivers.

Chan also commented on the projected 10 patacas fee that will be added to all fares during the first three days of the Chinese New Year.

In her words, many restaurants, during the said period, also charged extra service fees. “Do residents think it’s reasonable or not that restaurants propose to increase the fee a little bit?” she asked.

Moreover, the lawmaker suggested the taxi operators to follow the city’s taxi instructions.

On Monday, the Macau Taxi Driver Mutual Association visited the Transport Bureau (DSAT) proposing to increase taxi fares, including increasing the initial fare from MOP17 to MOP20. In addition, it suggests maintaining the MOP2 increase each time the meter changes, although by shortening the distance each time the meter changes from 260 meters to 200 meters. During the first three days of the Chinese New year holiday, the group suggested to charge MOP10 as an additional fee. JZ