A guide to Hong Kong Taxi Culture from 2013 - 2024
Hong Kong Taxis - Red, Green and Blue
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 52 years - I know the place.
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The Amazing Taxi Culture in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Culture 101
Hong Kong Transport - Taxis
The Hong Kong Taxi Culture
My introduction to a Hong Kong Taxi in 1972
Thanks to H Wong on Flickr for this fabulous image and yes, for quite some in the 1970’s we had Mercedes Benz Taxis in Hong Kong, a bit of class compared to the current models!
The commentary on this post will be limited compared to what I normally do, as there are big changes coming to the Taxi Industry in Hong Kong over the next 12 months which have will major implications and repercussions for the industry going into 2025 and until the picture becomes clear I will stick to basics only, it will be more of a visual treat and pretty much all the images are my own with the exception of the 2 old Mercedes Benz taxi images.
I have deliberately not mentioned the current taxi fares in Hong Kong as it seems to change on a regular basis these days (NEW higher fares will be implemented in mid July 2024) suffice to say that riding in a taxi is still a lot cheaper than calling Uber.
I will also try and refrain from making too many comments about the drivers, over 50% of taxi drivers in Hong Kong are aged over 60 - I like taxi drivers and I like having a chat with them but there is in Hong Kong a belief that your typical taxi driver is grumpy, rude and the cab smells like a garbage dump oh and is prone to ignoring you when you try and flag one down oh and they might try and scam you if you are a tourist and it is magnified by the comments made about Uber drivers being the complete opposite - well I have been taking taxis for 52 years here so I have a different opinion born of pre social media and a long history of interacting with cabbies.
I will say this though and it very rarely comes up in media articles and such and that is the very relevant point that a taxi driver aged 50 - 60 and who has been working as a cab driver for a decade or two is much more likely to know the roads a lot better than an Uber driver who relies on apps to show him or her how to get from point A to point B. - just saying and for some reason this argument is never put forward by the Taxi Industry as a plus point in their favour. go figure.
I will also make it clear that I have never used Uber personally, I do not have an account with them, neither does my wife but our boys use them.
I can understand why Uber is popular, it is simply a fact that the entire Taxi industry in Hong Kong has fallen into disrepute over the past 15 years and not a day goes by without a story of tourists being ripped off by errant drivers but for most people the worst thing is that you simply cannot hail a Taxi at shift change time, rush hour and late in the evening for some reason, it is simply wrong for the Government to ignore these complaints, the fact is, if you call Uber you pretty much can get a ride in a couple of minutes, whereas with a Taxi you could wait for 30 40 minutes.
…. oh and lest everyone forget, accepting payment other than cash ie credit cards, our Octopus card, banks apps and such was almost unheard of 2 years ago if you rode in a Taxi - only in the past year has concerted efforts been made to get Taxi owners to install the tech in the cabs to allow for non cash payments, many think, too little too late.
As stated the tech is in place and the Government needs to allow free market competition between ride hailing services and taxi’s and you have to admire the idiocy of the Taxi Industry recently in asking for a massive fare hike when their reputation is rock bottom, they lost and the coming fare hike is very low compared to what they where asking for.
A brief history of Taxis in Hong Kong
Contrary to popular belief that the Taxi Industry started in 1941 it is more accurate to state that the Taxi Industry got a start in 1922 and became official in 1924 - amazingly the Kowloon Motor Bus Company was the first company to offer a taxi service in Hong Kong and slowly expanded in the 1930’s and then after WW2 and leading into the 1950's and 1960's there were 4 dominant players who slowly emerged.
☛ Blue Taxicabs
☛ Central Taxi Cab Company
☛ New Taxi Cab
☛ Star Taxicab Ltd
... and naturally these companies diversified and acquired property companies and developed large trading and manufacturing companies still doing business in 2024
I found it fascinating that there was a company in 1950 called The Peak Taxi Company who had a taxi service to go to Victoria Peak and only Victoria Peak!
It should also be pointed out that in 1950 the total number of Taxis in Hong Kong was just 344 and by 1965 this had soared to 3,600 taxis
Most of the modern day Government regulations came into being in the early to mid 1970’s, some of these where to do with colour schemes (The Government has no records apparently of why red was chosen for urban taxi’s) and another one was why there where 3 types of taxi (see below) well that was to make sure that the public had access to a taxi out in the boonies
Below are 2 links to well researched articles by the Industrial History of Hong Kong Group on how the Taxi Industry evolved in Hong Kong, fascinating reading.
The modern day (2024) Taxi Industry in Hong Kong
There are 18,163 Taxis (Red, Green & Blue) registered in Hong Kong (Source - The Transport Department, Hong Kong Government) and the industry is very heavily regulated.
☛ 15,250 Red Taxis or Urban Taxis
☛ 2,838 Green Taxis or New Territories Taxis
☛ 75 Blue Taxis or Lantau Taxis
Payment for a ride is still mainly in CASH in HK$, cashless payment ie credit cards, debit cards and Octopus cards, phone apps and such are finally being accepted for Taxi payment.
Approximately 72% of Taxis are licenced for 4 passengers and 28% are licenced for 5 passengers and within a few years 5 passenger Taxis will be probably be phased out, Hong Kong people love Uber as many of the cars are what we call the 7 seaters, big and quite luxurious Toyota‛s and Nissan‛s that comfortably hold 6 passengers ideal for groups and families | for the record Uber currently operates illegally in Hong Kong since 2014 and have tacit approval from the Government which may well change soon.
A major review and overhaul of the Taxi Industry is currently in progress which may see Uber becoming legal as well as other ride hailing services and naturally it could well go in the opposite direction.
The current cost of a Red (Urban) Taxi Licence fluctuates between HK$3,500,000 | US$449,000 and HK$4,500,000 | US$577,000 with an average of roughly HK$4,100,000 | US$526,000 over a 12 month period. This figure can fluctuate as people speculate on these! At one stage not too long ago the price hit HK$7,020,000 or US$900,000 and then Uber arrived in Hong Kong. Do the math, even at the bottom end of the cost of a taxi licence - US$449,000 x 18,163 licences is a significant amount of money - you can understand why the owners of Taxi‛s do not want any competition from the likes of Uber and other ride hailing companies.
The last Taxi Licence to be issued was in 1994 and they are still considered to be a solid investment despite a downward trend in the second hand market for them and yes, companies and individuals that own a lot of licences also have a lot of so called political power and they resist any sort of change.
Current Taxis are mainly Toyota, Nissan or Ford, mainly LPG or Hybrids, full EV vehicles are now being introduced again and are gaining in popularity which means more car brands are now being introduced.
At one stage in the late 1990’s 99% of Hong Kong taxis where either the Toyota Crown Comfort or the Nissan Cedric, now we have, things have not changed much at all, there are 12 models on the road in 2024 and 9 of them are either from Toyota or Nissan!
☛ Photography is simply a hobby for me, I do NOT sell my images and all of my images can be FREELY downloaded from my Flickr Image site which has over 170,000 Hong Kong Images. They can be downloaded in the original upload image size or 5 other sizes, please note that you DO NOT have to ask for permission to download and use any of my images!
The Official Colour Schemes.
Basically the colour schemes are a geographical reference to where the taxis can operate in Hong Kong which covers an area of 430sq miles or 1,113sq km
Red Taxis | Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories excluding some parts of Lantau Island
Green Taxis | The New Territories excluding some parts of Lantau Island and they are NOT allowed to operate on Hong Kong Island or in Kowloon
Blue Taxis | Certain parts of Lantau Island only and they are NOT allowed to operate on Hong Kong Island or in Kowloon or the New Territories covered by Green and Red Taxis
Red Taxis are the most expensive, followed by Green Taxis and Blue Taxis, it is all a bit complex
The red and silver colour scheme for the red taxi came about in late 1974 in order to make it clear that it was an Official Taxi, the Green ones came later in 1976 and the Blue taxis, well 20 of them were introduced in 1983 and serve a very specific part of Lantau Island and now there are 75 of them and yes, I have photographed every one of them!
Yes, you can have any colour you want as long as it is red, green and blue and in the correct and approved paint colour specifications.
So the standard bearer for the official taxi industry de facto model in Hong Kong is this horrible Toyota Crown Comfort Hybrid, it has been around for over 5 years now, I hated it then and I hate it now, no doubt a lot of people think that it has a cute design, I call it a Noddy car as it looks like a toy car and it only seats 4 passengers, at least the old version has a 4 seater and 5 seater version and the design was so much better, a personal opinion of course.
When I sit in this toy car I feel neither comfortable or safe, but that is just me and as for being iconic, well the old one was along with the Nissan Cedric, but this is just so bland an cartoon like.
This was the new and upgraded model Mercedes Benz Hong Kong Taxi which was very popular in the 1970’s
Those where the days, I used to love travelling around in this Mercedes Benz when I was a kid, made me feel like Royalty
Hong Kong Taxis | Current Models and Brands from 2013 - 2024
You can click on the image of each model to enlarge to full screen size.
I have been riding Taxis in Hong Kong for 52 years and for many years, I rode in one every day but I have always lamented the loss of having a proper car (ie a Mercedes Benz) as a taxi - cost is always a factor, the basics for taxi ownership these days is that it is cheap to purchase and it is cheap to maintain, hence this sorry looking parade of naff taxis
What has always made me mad is that most taxis are for 4 passengers, in the old style Toyota Crown Comfort and Nissan Cedric there was a 5 seater version with 2 passengers scrunched in the front with the driver, it was always very uncomfortable but at least you could fit 5 passengers.
It is only in the past few years that the Government has seen fit to allow larger cars to become taxis many of which have been modified to fit wheelchair passengers and we still have no models that can seat 6 passengers and yes, there are plenty of car models that fit the bill., part of the Governments overhaul of the taxi industry is to allow for a luxury taxi service that will cater for up to 6 passengers at a higher cost of course, this Premium Taxi Service is expected to be launched in mid 2025
Toyota and Nissan pretty much have a strangle hold on the market, Ford has made a few minor inroads but they are more expensive than Toyota and price is a major issue when Taxi Operators are looking to purchase new models.
BYD the huge Chinese car maker is trying to break into the market again after it’s failed attempt with an electric taxi in 2013 and 2014, the old model e6 has had a major overhaul! back in 2013 BYD Management had plans to sell 3,000 electric taxi’s in Hong Kong in a very short space of time but it simply never happened, they only sold 45 of them and quality problems were an issue as well as a complete lack of charging facilities, the upgraded version of the BYD e6 may do a little better, do not count on it, charging the car is still an issue and Toyota and Nissan are being very slow to roll out full EV cars, hybrids are a lot more popular and cheaper.
… and as you might guess, a lot of Uber operators operating in a legal dark grey area have Tesla’s!
This may surprise you that I like only 2 models, the old model 5 seater Toyota Crown Comfort and the 5 seater Nissan Cedric (which have all but vanished) I am NOT a fan of hybrids or 100% electric cars and yes, amazingly both of these models have cult status in Hong Kong!
You can click on the image of each taxi to enlarge to full screen size.
Pimped out Hong Kong Taxis
You hardly see pimped out taxi’s mainly because the Government doesn’t encourage it no doubt backed by harsh criminal penalities for daring to be different, some of the changes are quite subtle.
Smart Phones on Taxi Dashboards
Thanks and credit to Time Out in Hong Kong for a recent article which explains why there are so many phones on a taxi dashboard, see below for the explanation.
“We’ve all seen it – taxi drivers with so many smartphones arranged on their dashboard that the whole thing more closely resembles a plane cockpit than anything belonging to a road-worthy vehicle. Back during the days of Pokémon Go, at least one of these phones would definitely have been used to catch ‘em all, but what about now? As it turns out, taxi drivers use multiple devices to receive orders from ride-hailing apps, manage bookings via calls, connect with multiple dispatch centres, track locations on maps, check for congested routes, and swap information with other cabbies. Because nobody wants to faff around swiping between apps, this necessitates one screen running each function simultaneously.
If your cabbie has an usually high number of phones pinned up, it’s most likely that he is also part of the not-entirely-legal network of 20 percent off taxis. This comprises syndicates of taxi drivers who are connected through complex networks. A customer in the know can call one of them, who will then broadcast the order to his network, and when one of them accepts the journey, they will knock 20% off the metre fare. Each cabbie could be a member of many such networks, hence the need for multiple lines of communication for each.”
Taxi licence plates that have sold for a large sum of money
Strange signs in Hong Kong Taxis
A brief history of Uber and the Hong Kong Taxi Industry and the future of Taxis and ride hailing services in Hong Kong | a fluid and ongoing “situation”
After Uber arrived in 2014 there was no love lost between Uber and Taxi Owners | Drivers and it came to a head in 2019
March 2019 South China Morning Post Article
Exclusive | Hong Kong taxi firm owner scraps partnership with Uber after ‘threats to family’s safety and potential insurance boycott’
Owner of Tin Shing Motors absent from scheduled launch event after being labelled ‘traitor to industry’
Arrangement would have allowed users to hail taxis through Uber’s existing mobile app
Fast forward to 2024 and many Taxi Owners and Drivers are now embracing Uber Taxi, I never actually thought we would ever see the UBER brand on a Taxi and in May 1924 Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun “told cabbies to consider joining the company’s Uber Taxi service as he weighed in on the latest debate over the use of ride-hailing services in the city. He said about 11,000 of the 15,250 urban taxis in the city were already on the platform, adding that some were earning an extra HK$10,000 (US$1,300) in monthly income, according to his understanding.”
To put into context at how the Government has been dragging it’s feet, they were studying introducing a Premium Taxi Service in Hong in 2007 and initiated a public consultation, the results of which were published in 2008 - so if Premium Taxi’s are introduced in Hong Kong in 2025 that is a mind boggling 17 years of inaction on the part of the Transport Department and successive Governments!
That extra income has to be a big incentive
Monumental changes to the whole taxi service and ride hailing services are about to happen in Hong Kong, an update will follow in due course, there are also 2 Mainland Chinese Companies offering ride hailing apps through Taxi operators much in the same manner as Uber, the point being that the Uber App is much more sophisticated than any app put out by the Taxi Industry and the Uber app is totally embraced by the paying public.
At this point in time it seems likely that the current status quo with regards to Uber operating “illegally” but tolerated in a manner of speaking will remain in place until mid 2025 when supposedly the new Premium Taxi fleets will arrive on the scene, personally I do not think these so called Premium Taxi’s will make any difference at all, Uber and other ride hailing services need to be legalised to bring us inline with all major countries including the rest of Mainland China, the simple fact is that Uber offers a far, far superior service, the Taxi trade in Hong Kong is run like a cartel and they despise any form of competition, this has to stop, perhaps with strong competition the Taxi Trade will be forced to improve it’s service.
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| Cultural Tourism At It’s Very Best |
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Jamie, Your Passionate Hong Kong Expert & Storyteller
Discover Hong Kong - Pearl of the Orient
Learn about the unbiased, real Hong Kong | forget what you read in the press!
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | | 2011 - 2024.
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