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  • 1 Post By Nicolaas20
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Taxi Drivers!

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Nov 2017
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    107

    Taxi Drivers!

    Always wondered, why do they drive like they do with their gas pedal control? Its so irritating! Do they think it saves gas? Cause it obviously doesn't.

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  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Nicolaas20:
    Always wondered, why do they drive like they do with their gas pedal control? Its so irritating! Do they think it saves gas? Cause it obviously doesn't.
    I've always assumed it was a way of generating a bit of extra income:

    https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/02/ar...xchange-blows/

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    Original Post Deleted
    Hung Wing Tat is a prof at City U and moonlights as a Taxi rep. I guess as there is a shortage that he knows will never be addressed allowing flag fall to be set by market rates will just be a bump in income to licence holders.
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  4. #4

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    Original Post Deleted
    but printing new licences will not happen as the functional constituency has less than 200 votes. Bumping up flag falls does and will continue to happen. Peak time flag fall will be next I would guess.

  5. #5

    When I think of HK taxis:

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  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2019
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    7,463
    Quote Originally Posted by Nicolaas20:
    Always wondered, why do they drive like they do with their gas pedal control? Its so irritating! Do they think it saves gas? Cause it obviously doesn't.
    There are a variety of reasons. One of them being a closed market and a taxi monopoly translating into poor service and lack of incentive to improve the quality of taxi drivers. The number of taxi licenses have remain roughly static since around 1994. The current license holders have no intention to allow for any big push to issue new licenses. That would under-cut the value of their existing licenses. Uber is technically still illegal in HK and the taxi cartel is not about to open up the market to let any other ride-hailing app in.

    So we end up with poorly paid drivers, most of them hating the job they do and blaming the rest of the world for the plight they are in. So they take out their frustration by stepping hard on the gas and braking abruptly, it is a kind of road rage for them. Yes, increasing complaints against the wretched quality of HK taxi drivers have forced some in the industry to make a gesture here and there to improve service, but I have yet to see any kind of real and substantial change.
    Last edited by Coolboy; 24-12-2019 at 04:36 PM.
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