Taxi service under the spotlight at AL

The topic of the taxi service in Macau continues to attract the attention of several sectors of society with multiple personalities issuing opinions on the matter.

Yesterday, at the first plenary meeting at the Legislative Assembly (AL) after the legislative holidays, several lawmakers took the opportunity during the period before the agenda to issue opinions and suggestions on this issue.

All of those making inquiries agreed that the taxi service in Macau currently is insufficient and needs significant improvements to be able to satisfy both residents and tourists.

Ma Io Fong extensively addressed the topic claiming that under the new taxi law, which imposes harsher punishments for the drivers, the number of cases of overcharging, refusal to transport passengers, and choice of longer routes during the trip have reduced significantly.

However, the same lawmaker added that this method of applying fines without offering any incentives “can only prevent taxi drivers from making mistakes, but cannot enhance the quality of the service.”

Ma believes that to improve the service the government must create an incentive scheme that could, for instance, establish “Good Taxi Driver Awards” that would evaluate the service of all drivers, thus distinguishing those who provide good service from those who do not.

Additionally, Ma wants the government to create and officially establish a supplementary fee to be charged by taxi drivers for travel during bad weather. This would legalize the overcharging that some taxi drivers practice against the laws that currently regulate the sector, particularly during the strong typhoons when other public transportation methods suspend their operations.

“An acceptable proposal to both the sector and community regarding an additional fee in the event of bad weather must be discussed, guaranteeing the rights and interests of both drivers and passengers,” Ma said at the AL.

Other lawmakers like Ho Ion Sang also addressed the topic, who noted that with the recent increase in the number of tourists, the difficulties in managing to catch a bus has “resurfaced,” especially during holidays and days in which there are public events and other activities in Macau.

Ho added that in addition to increasing “the number of taxis and launching, as soon as possible, a public tender for 500 new taxi licenses with a term of eight years, the most important thing is to solve the problem of the difficulty of hailing a taxi, both for residents and tourists. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the [taxi calling] application as soon as possible, as well as optimize the service of advanced booking and exact positioning.”