Mr. Li Wing Sang, a taxi driver with 22 years’ experience, is now a supervisor of the Taxi Driver Brand of Motor Transport Workers General Union.
Mr. Li said, “Taxi-driving is an interdependent occupation in society. When the economy is good, all kinds of tertiary industries flourish, as people have more money to spend. Thus, they take taxis more frequently. However, demand for taxi service is decreasing now.
“Our actual income dramatically decreases with inflation. In the years 1991 and 1992, we could earn $700 for each shift. We can only earn $500 now,” said he.
The $500 figure is the gross daily earnings, not the net. The average daily expenditure of a taxi driver is nearly $400, which includes $280 to $300 for the taxi lease and $100 for diesel fuel for each shift.
Said Mr. Li: “Earning $100 per shift can hardly support our living. The daily cost of $400 is a great burden on the drivers.
“Moreover, congestion occurs at every corner in Hong Kong. It reduces our opportunities for making profit. Taxi drivers are always threatened by fines also,” he said.
Some drivers cope with the problem in novel ways. Mr. Lui Chit Wah, a 31-year-old taxi driver, did not think his business was decreasing sharply.
He said, “I have earned more in the past two years due to the fact that I have changed my shift from weekdays to holiday nights.”
According to Mr. Tse Kai Cheong, a 35-year-old taxi driver, the economic difficulty does not affect his income on holidays.
He said, “It is still difficult to get a vacant taxi in busy districts like Tsim Sha Tsui on holidays. However, there are chains of ‘lanterns’ (vacant taxis) in the streets on weekdays.”
The drivers call a vacant taxi a “lantern” as its signal light is turned on while on hire.
According to Mr. Tse, the economic recession was not the only factor for the decline of income.
“The income of a taxi driver depends on how long he works. This is especially true for night-shift taxi drivers. A taxi driver on night shift gets his taxi at around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. He can earn much more if he is willing to drive until 7 a.m. the next morning,” said Mr. Tse.
Yet, the increasing popularity of minibuses which run 24 hours a day hastens the decline of the taxi industry.
Many minibuses like those travelling from Jordon to Tuen Mun, Choi Hung to Sai Kung, and Repulse Bay to Central are available overnight now. Lower fares of minibuses make them good substitutes for taxis.
Mr. Li said, “Apparently, this will have some adverse effects on our business. Take the route from Aberdeen to Wan Chai as an example. In the past, the taxi was the only transportation at midnight. However, people can take minibuses now.”
Mr. Lui disagreed. “It is much less convenient to take minibus,” he said. Passengers have to wait until the minibus is full. Moreover, it is very likely that the minibus cannot reach the exact places where you want to go, but a taxi can definitely meet everyone’s needs.”
Facing the financial hardship, some taxi unions have proposed to raise the taxi fare. This has been approved already by Transport Advisory Committee. The flagfall will rise to $14 for urban taxis and $11.8 for the New Territories taxis starting in February.
Said Mr. Law Man Chi, the temporary secretary of the Taxi Operators Association Limited: “The soaring cost and the inflation rate made it a must to increase fares.
“People always think that we raise the taxi fare too frequently. Yet, in fact, it takes a long time for public consultations. When the previous application is approved, another tide of inflation has already come and we have to adjust the fare again,” he said.
However, a lot of taxi drivers do not see this as a good time for raising fares.
Mr. Li said, “The business of taxi-driving is already bad. The increase of fares will only further discourage people from taking taxis.”
However, Mr. Tse does not worry.
“The taxi is the only option for a fast, convenient ride. Our income will be back to normal soon,” he said.
“Nevertheless, our income actually does not increase with the fares since the rent, the price of diesel and the inflation rate also increase,” said he.
Mr. Lui commented, “If the fare is raised in peak seasons like summer and Lunar New Year, the negative effects will be minimized.”
Apart from raising fares, some taxi unions proposed an additional charge of $3 on each journey after 11 p.m. This proposal has been rejected, and the taxi drivers hold different views on the proposal.
Mr. Law said that their union supported the idea. They discussed this with the government three years ago.
He said, “Many countries like Britain have already had this kind of practice. Drivers have to pay $6 to $7 per hour for diesel when driving to find passengers. The proposed charge provides compensation for them.
“Furthermore, robberies always happen in the midnight hours. The surcharge is reasonable, as it compensates those taxi drivers who may take risks to their lives to provide services.” Mr. Li disagreed.
“Night-shift taxi drivers are not likely to work from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.,” he said, “because of the poor business. They would not earn much from this surcharge, as it would only discourage passengers to take taxis.”
Yet Mr. Tse did not think that this small amount of money would drive the passengers away.
He said, “Those who go out for night entertainment will not mind paying $3 more.”
In spite of the hardship, most taxi drivers do not consider giving up their jobs.
Mr. Li said, “It is difficult to find a job now. It would be very hard for us taxi drivers to change our jobs. One reason is that the starting salaries of other jobs would not be as much as that of some taxi drivers.
“Private car drivers or minibus drivers can be alternative jobs for taxi drivers. However, the demand for drivers is nearly saturated now,” said Mr. Li.
Mr. Tse said that driving taxis seems to remain an attractive job as there are more and more part-time taxi drivers.
So far, Mr. Tse is happy about being a taxi driver.
He said, “I am quite satisfied with my job. Although the income has declined, I can still earn a living with my effort. I enjoy the freedom my job gives me.”
However, Mr. Li said, “Taxi-driving is quite boring. Worse still, under the leasing system, lots of pressure has been put on the drivers since they have to bear a rent of $400 every day.”
The decrease in demand for taxi service creates lots of conflicts among the taxi-drivers. It is common for them to quarrel over a good stop for passengers.
To be a taxi driver is not as easy as what people imagine, especially during the economic slowdown.
“Hopefully the economic recession will end soon, and then we can earn much more in the coming holidays,” said Mr. Li.
Taxi driver bargaining powers
By Emmy Lau When one reads news- paper articles about the increases in taxi fares,the names of taxi associations always appear. They are the ones who call for the fare increases. In fact, taxi unions formed by taxi drivers do exist. According to Mr. Li Wing Sang, a supervisor of the Motor Transport Workers General Union’s Taxi Driver Branch, there are at least 40 taxi drivers’ unions in the New Territories and Hong Kong Island. Their associations aim at protecting the rights of taxi drivers, no matter whether they own or lease taxis. However, appearances suggest that these groups are rather passive and do not have as much contact with the government as the Taxi Operators Association Limited does. Said Mr. Li: “Our association strives for the rights of our members in other fields. We have petitioned the Legislative Council about the policy of changing the use of diesel to petrol engines. We also have met with police about the recent robberies of taxi drivers.” Mr. Li explained, “We think we have an obligation to be more active in the future in order to fight for the rights of our members. “We take constructive steps in promoting our welfare. We will negotiate with the government by proposing the rise of fare and additional charges,” he said. In Hong Kong, nearly 80 to 95 percent of the drivers lease their taxis. However, they do not have representatives in the negotiations on fare increases. The Taxi Operator Association consists only of taxi companies and drivers who have their own taxis. Drivers who lease taxis are excluded.
According to Mr. Li, a more united taxi drivers’ union is needed so that the drivers will have more channels to voice their opinions.
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