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Why don't taxis take credit cards?

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  1. #1

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    Why don't taxis take credit cards?

    Historically getting a merchant account was tricky and the machine would of been owned by the licence holder meaning all sorts of trouble for the drivers and an end to collecting tips.

    With services like Square drivers could still collect their money and prompt people for tips in a more subtle way.

    https://squareup.com/taxi-credit-card-processing

    Unfortunately nothing will happen....


  2. #2

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    Are taxi meters actually logging all rides and are they checked by anyone (IRD? gov?), or do these meters forget them after a ride is done and receipt printed?

    One of the reason (in the west) why cash business is often preferred is "tax avoidance" (business never happened)....


  3. #3

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    Taxi drivers in Hk don't want payment systems that leave a tax department scrutinisable paper trail.

    Cash is king in Hong Kong Taxi Land, and until someone develops a payment system that that IRD can't get access to the account, you got no game. Now that there are much more pervasive anti laundering policies employed by banks and the like, then the chances are, the taxi industry is just going to say F off to 20th century, first world, convenience. You cant even get cab charge books here ! ( taxi voucher )

    Most of HK runs that way, which is why the hk IRD collects so little income tax, compared to say, Australia, which collects a shit tonne more per working person... Kinda helps when house hold incomes in Australia are considerably higher than Hong Kong on average. Not that Hong Kong really gives two fucks about the ' average ' Hong Konger....

    And for the above stated reason, Hong Kongers don't really like taking financial responsibility for anything, even with such low % income tax, the mass majority don't declare enough to even pay tax... Hmmmmm

    In my opinion, the whole taxi industry chestnut, needs to be busted right open, and the present 3 colour taxi system, abolished!

    Make taxis forced to be managed by a brand, and brand that taxi company and its cars accordingly. This creates competition between cab brands, it will also fast track android phone, GPS linked taxi hailing services ( which work amazingly well on the mainland ) Octopus card etc etc etc.

    The problem in Hong Kong, is the present lazy arsed structure of the taxi system, eliminate that, and allow taxi companies to run competing, branded ( uniform livery) fleets, then customers will choose one brand over another...Competition ! something Hong Kong usually does its level best to avoid. hahahaha

    Last edited by Skyhook; 02-09-2016 at 10:36 AM.
    huja and irisboards like this.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    Taxi drivers in Hk don't want payment systems that leave a tax department scrutinisable paper trail.

    Cash is king in Hong Kong Taxi Land, and until someone develops a payment system that that IRD can't get access to the account, you got no game.

    Most of HK runs that way, which is why the hk IRD collects so little income tax, compared to say, Australia, which collects a shit tonne more per working person... Kinda helps when house hold income in Australia is averaged at $150,000aud per year.

    Hong Kongers don't really like taking responsibility, even with such low % income tax, most don't declare enough to even pay tax... Hmmmmm
    They're hurting themselves though. Convenient payment systems were invented and are being used because it increases transactions. I'd rather increase my ridership than count on a tiny tip.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by civil_servant:
    They're hurting themselves though. Convenient payment systems were invented and are being used because it increases transactions. I'd rather increase my ridership than count on a tiny tip.
    I don't think they are, in actual reality, there are only so many paying passengers they can carry per hour, so it's not like they are doing a shit tonne of transactions per day. Less than 3 per hour on a very good day. WOW ! lol which is such a limiting factor on revenue that the driver can earn. Obviously total distance of the trip per hour, dictates the end fare ( traffic congestion certainly helps too ) as they can only travel so far, per hour. ( say SK to the airport for a 67km, 55 minute fare = $380 for example. )

    If the taxi industry were to 'modernise' to the 21st century ALL using the same gazetted payment systems, its only logical that it will attract admin costs to internally book keep all those transactions, which really SHOULD be the responsibility of the TAXI owner, NOT the driver. ( if the taxi becomes part of a uniform brand )

    So, easy solution, increase driver wages, ie taxi costs to the consumer, WILL noticeably go up, but hey, you get the convenience that ' some ' of you want.

    Personally I don't really mind using cash, but having spent a lot more time over the border this year, I'm pretty happy with the Android, DiDi taxi hailing service, it's pretty fantastic, because HK's service is just so shit, it makes it feel SO MUCH BETTER! . Plus mainland taxis are MUCH newer cars, quite a few I have taken rides in have been BYD E6 electric cabs, too!

    Hong Kong ( LEGCO ) got so greedy and protective of the rich, that now the rest of us have to eat shit because of the decisions that this government makes for the benefit of, a privileged few.

    Spend some time across the border, things over there have moved along while Hong Kong sits still and has done for the past decade....
    Last edited by Skyhook; 02-09-2016 at 11:13 AM.
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  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    I don't think they are in actual reality, there are only so many customers they can carry per hour, so it's not like they are doing a shit tonne of transactions per day. Maybe 4 or 5 per hour on a very good day. WOW ! lol which is such a limiting factor on revenue that the driver can earn.

    If the taxi industry were to 'modernise' to the 21st century ALL using the same gazetted payment systems, its only logical that it will attract admin costs to internally book keep all those transactions, which SHOULD be the responsibility of the TAXI owner, NOT the driver.

    So, easy solution, increase driver wages, ie taxi costs for the consumer WILL noticeably go up, but hey, you get the convenience that ' some ' of you want. Personally I don't really mind using cash, but having been spending a lot more time in the mainland this year, I'm pretty happy with the DiDI taxi hailing service, it's fantastic, because HK's service is just so shit. Plus mainland taxis are MUCH newer cars, quite a few have been BYD E6 electric cabs, too.

    Hong Kong got so greedy and protective of the rich, that now the rest of us have to eat shit because of the decisions that our government makes, to the benefit of a privileged

    few.

    Spend some time across the border, things over there have moved along while Hong Kong sits still and has done for the past decade....
    You are very correct. Just had a chat with the person in the Transport Bureau responsible for Taxi policy and he indicated they have no direction at all from their seniors to make significant improvements.

    They are going to implement their very limited Premium Taxi service which will give drivers a proper employment contract and a minimum wage and they firmly believe this is a big step in the right direction. Although to a layman it just looks like a scheme to give 3 favoured taxi licence operators more money.

    There are NO plans or studies in place to make any other improvements or deregulation. The Bureau also firmly believe there are more than sufficient taxis in Hong Kong. Given taxi mileage is up something like 50% in the last 7 years this is a strange belief to hold with no data to back it up.

    The issue is at the executive level of government who do not set target or goals for the bureaus to achieve with policy proposals that can then be reviewed and enacted.

    CY Leung's obsession with the mainland is the issue. So yes we can blame this one on the mainlanders also....

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by civil_servant:
    They're hurting themselves though. Convenient payment systems were invented and are being used because it increases transactions. I'd rather increase my ridership than count on a tiny tip.
    They could easily set a minimum cash only limit.

    The issue is still the 2.7% the credit card companies take but with good software the could get more tips....

  8. #8
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    There are numerous times when I tried to hail a taxi, looked at my wallet, discovered only a 20, and gave up on the idea. There are few ATMs at street level. Finding an ATM and getting cash is such a waste of time in my opinion and extremely inconvenient considering that many ATMs in Hong Kong have lineups. The time spent looking for an ATM can easily add 10 minutes to a commute in which case it negates the convenience of the taxi ride.

    If one takes New York as a case study, the evidence is overwhelming that credit cards both increase ridership and tips.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/ny...taxi.html?_r=0

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by civil_servant:
    There are numerous times when I tried to hail a taxi, looked at my wallet, discovered only a 20, and gave up on the idea. There are few ATMs at street level. Finding an ATM and getting cash is such a waste of time in my opinion and extremely inconvenient considering that many ATMs in Hong Kong have lineups. The time spent looking for an ATM can easily add 10 minutes to a commute in which case it negates the convenience of the taxi ride.

    If one takes New York as a case study, the evidence is overwhelming that credit cards both increase ridership and tips.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/ny...taxi.html?_r=0
    Don't forget, many purchase decisions are made on impulse. Credit Cards are the ideal companion to that.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by civil_servant:
    There are numerous times when I tried to hail a taxi, looked at my wallet, discovered only a 20, and gave up on the idea. There are few ATMs at street level. Finding an ATM and getting cash is such a waste of time in my opinion and extremely inconvenient considering that many ATMs in Hong Kong have lineups. The time spent looking for an ATM can easily add 10 minutes to a commute in which case it negates the convenience of the taxi ride.

    If one takes New York as a case study, the evidence is overwhelming that credit cards both increase ridership and tips.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/ny...taxi.html?_r=0

    The time you've spent typing and linking this post you could have found an ATM and got some cash in your wallet
    chuckster007 likes this.

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