The Transport and Logistics Bureau said on Wednesday the city recorded 4,585 accidents involving taxis last year, 26 per cent higher than the 3,632 in 2022 and above the 4,153 in 2021.
The Transport Department received 1,006 serious complaints over taxi drivers last year, almost double the 574 in 2022 and much higher than the 464 in 2021.
The trend of rising complaints corresponded to police statistics, which showed the number of enforcement actions last year rose by 47.3 per cent against 2022 levels to 140 cases. The force only dealt with 49 cases in 2021.
Just over one-third of the complaints received by the Transport Department related to taxis refusing to accept passengers, with another third centred on overcharging and the rest covering failure to take the fastest or easiest routes.
The number of complaints of overcharging hit 340 last year, rising 1.2 times from 152 cases in 2022.
Police said officers also carried out about 80 rounds of law enforcement actions in the three years to 2023 to tackle illegal ride-hailing services.
In response to lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit-chong, acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics Liu Chun-san said the government was aware of the public’s concern about the illegal services.
“The government is reviewing how to enhance the existing legislation in order to combat illegal activities more effectively on the one hand, and exploring how to regulate online hailing platforms on the other hand, thereby only allowing taxis and hire cars with permits to provide services through the platforms,” Liu said.
Ride-hailing services have been thrust back into the spotlight after some cabbies last month launched a series of “undercover missions” acting as passengers to trick Uber drivers into stopping at locations where police had been called.
Hong Kong is currently home to 46,000 taxi drivers.
To help ditch the sector’s poor reputation, the Hong Kong Taxi Council on Wednesday kicked off its three-month courtesy drive, with university students hired as ambassadors and sent to some of the city’s busiest cab ranks to distribute pamphlets and souvenirs to drivers.
The courtesy drive is running alongside the Tourism Board’s “Let’s Go the Extra Mile” campaign to promote good hospitality and better services to tourists.
“Our event time is limited and we have limited access to drivers and passengers. I believe our primary purpose in organising this event is to establish an overall service image for the entire industry,” said Ryan Wong Cheuk-pong, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi Council.
“Even if there are some drivers whom we have not yet reached, we hope that through news coverage and even communication among industry peers, they can improve their service level.”