1 week Ago By SCMP Editorial
In hindsight, April Fool’s Day was perhaps an untimely choice for one of Hong Kong’s new premium taxi operators to start testing its new service, only to frustrate many customers with cancelled orders and a driver shortage. The bumpy start was no joke for an industry hoping to rise above the chequered reputation of the city’s licensed taxis. The fleet has failed to rise to challenges from Uber and other ride-hailing services that are popular despite years operating in a grey area.
The new premium cab companies have set out to impress with better-quality vehicles, improved driver training and app-based bookings. But operators must now reflect on and learn from a botched trial run that even drew a warning from the transport chief, who said full-fleet licences would not be issued unless they could improve in time for a July deadline. In the spotlight on April 1 was JOIE, a subsidiary of leading cab company Tai Wo Management.
It is among five operators signed up to run the city’s first premium taxis, along with Big Boss Taxi Company, CMG Fleet Management, Sino Development and SynCab Service, which did its own trial run in January. Post reporters using the new JOIE app on the morning of the pilot launch were not able to hail rides even after trying to book more than an hour in advance..
