By Alisha Wong
April 5, 2024
More Hong Kong Taxis are accepting cashless payments in April with the introduction of CabCab, a new smart taxi meter system.
Funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund and endorsed by the government, Cabcab smart meters accept payment via Octopus, credit cards from various digital merchants, Alipay, FPS, and other widely used electronic platforms.
According to the press release from the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the meter will initially be adopted by 100 Urban and New Territories taxis. It is hoped that 1,000 taxis will be equipped with CabCab by the third quarter this year.
In addition to accepting cashless payment, Cabcab offers electronic receipts and simplifies fare calculations when taxi drivers need to calculate toll of tunnels and other additional charges.
No service charges of the meters will be imposed on any parties during the trials but consumers may need to bear the service charges when the meters are officially adopted.
“E-payments can also avoid problems of currency exchange when tourists are not carrying enough cash in Hong Kong dollars,” said Wong Yu-ting, Managing Director of CabCab and Chairman of Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association.
Compared with other global cities, Hong Kong taxis are said to be cash-loving by many as not all drivers accept other payment methods. According to Michael Tien, a member of the Legislative Council, payment by cash is the mainstream in Hong Kong.
“Here, we accept a lot of payment methods, don’t you have that in Hong Kong?” asked Mr. Hong, a taxi driver in Taipei.
Introducing an all-rounded system and building a smart mobility city is good. Yet, what do drivers and consumers think about it?
“I think cash is the best for us as we can get money without delay. With technology, money is stored virtually, it takes time to transfer, which is not practical for us,” said Mr Leung, a Hong Kong taxi driver with over 10 years of experience.
Leung said it is often that Hong Kong taxi drivers rent a taxi to operate as they do not own one, explaining his concern about delays in money transfers.
Yet, the taxi driver agreed that more tourists might be attracted to taxis if more taxis take cashless payments. “Sometimes, tourists do not have enough cash to pay us and some told me they usually take Uber instead,” said Leung, driving to the city center from the airport.
Unlike hiring local taxis, Uber, providing ride-hailing services worldwide, accepts online payment. Even when traveling to a foreign country, users can easily book an Uber by using their own credit cards. Uber Taxi function was launched in Hong Kong in October 2020, allowing users to hire taxis online.
Xiao Ling, a mainland traveler studying in London, was glad that Hong Kong taxis are finally accepting cashless payments.
“It is certainly great news for us. I don’t use cash to get a cab on the mainland nor when I am traveling around Europe,” said Xiao Ling.
Feature image by Alisha Wong
Edited by Alvin Heung and Rita Lim