A local taxi-hailing app will be launched in the first quarter of next year by the city's sole taxi industry council to enhance services and optimize transport efficiency.

Some 500 taxis will register under the app in the trial period, according to the Hong Kong Taxi Industry Council (HKTIC). The council's chief adviser Fu Chuen-fu said it hoped all local taxis would eventually join the platform.

Drivers need a recommendation from industry organizations recognized by the Transport Department before joining the platform. They will be listed according to passenger ratings. Higher-ranked drivers will be given priority to connect with passengers.

Passengers can also make complaints directly on the app. The HKTIC will supervise its member companies to follow up the cases.

Fu said the system is set to guarantee a good level of service to answer the needs of the city's passengers.

According to an HKTIC survey, the top two concerns among passengers are the driver's attitude when providing service and the inconvenience of hailing a cab.

Transport analyst Hung Wing-tat said the app would enhance transport efficiency significantly. Drivers would not have to look for business on the roads, which would ease road use and lower fuel consumption.

Meanwhile, the app, which uses the Global Positioning System (GPS), would provide evidence for detour complaints, Hung said. This would effectively stop drivers from cheating.

The app will also collect big data for solutions to Hong Kong's transport problems.

Transport constituency lawmaker Frankie Yick Chi-ming agreed. The more drivers joining the project, the more optimized transport conditions the city would get, Yick said.

It would also be possible to correlate drivers' attitudes toward customers with their income, Yick said. He saw it as a win-win situation for both drivers and passengers.

Meanwhile, the council will also work with the city's Vocational Training Council and the Employees Retraining Board to help drivers with their career development and to encourage young people to join the profession.

Currently, 18,138 taxis are in service in the city, Transport Department figures show. Some 40,000 drivers work in the industry, with an average age of more than 50, according to research by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The city's taxi drivers have been outraged as new car-hailing apps like Uber seek to muscle in on their business. In July, more than 100 taxis drove to government headquarters in Admiralty to protest against those apps they claim are "costing them business".

luisliu@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/06/2015 page7)