Protest against tighter regulations gathers few taxi drivers

Approximately 20 taxi drivers gathered yesterday morning around the Border Gate area to protest against the new government-proposed policies that aim to regulate the taxi industry.
In a demonstration that ultimately gathered fewer people than expected (the public security police force had predicted attendance to be between 50 to 100 taxis), the protesters were in fact outnumbered by members of the police force, some in uniform and many others undercover.
Following a 15-minute trip commencing at the Border Gate area, the taxi convoy reached the headquarters of the Transport Bureau (DSAT), where they were supposed to deliver a petition outlining their objections to the policies.
In fact, there was no petition to be delivered because, according to Chan Ka Seng, the vice president of the Taxi Drivers Rights Association (TDRA), “the document was not yet ready.” Chan, who led the group in the protest, said that in addition to the association’s concerns was the fact that the proposed law aims to punish not only drivers for their infractions, but also the license and taxi owners.
A cyclist who followed the protest and claimed to be a taxi owner also said that it was unacceptable to threaten the investments of taxi and license owners with potential revocations of their licenses.
Although there was no written petition to be delivered, a “symbolic” delivery of the concerns of the taxi drivers was staged at the site. The TDRA representative promised to deliver the real petition at a later time.
DSAT officials refused to address any comments regarding this particular petition, due to “not yet knowing its content.”
A statement issued by DSAT yesterday indicated that “the government is actively following the revision of the ‘Legal Regime of Taxi Passenger Transport’ in order to respond to the wishes of residents and tourists regarding the taxi service and improve the taxi industry operating environment.”
The same statement recalled that during the revision process the government placed a great deal of weight on the opinions expressed during the public consultation period, and reaffirmed that the government “will not tolerate or be lenient with any offenses in the taxi service,” urging taxi drivers “not to challenge the law.”
Hoping to obtain a clearer idea of the views within the sector, the Times spoke to two taxi drivers, who expressed opposing views on the subject.
Mr Cheong, a 63-year-old taxi driver with over 30 years experience in the business, in both Hong Kong and Macau, showed no interest in the topic saying, “I have no interest in politics. For me it’s the same everyday and just a normal job.”
Regarding the complaints of fellow taxi drivers Mr Cheong said, “Those complaining must be the ones that were making ‘big bucks’ before. Those people are suffering more now. For me it’s the same because I always did an honest job. Normal taxi,” he said.
Mr Chan, another taxi driver, had a different view, saying, “the regulation is too heavy! Fines of MOP2,000 are too much!”
The same driver added that “law enforcement treats drivers differently,” concluding, “I hope that in the end [of the protests] there will be no fines at all.”
Other drivers contacted by the Times refused to comment, claiming that they were “very busy.”