Hong Kong's taxi drivers are told to smile more

Mint

14-05-2025

Hong kong has had a tough few years. It saw huge pro-democracy protests in 2019, covid lockdowns and a political crackdown in 2020, and a new national-security law in 2020. Those changes and their fallout have taken their toll on the tourist industry. Some 65m people visited in 2018. In 2024 that was down to 45m. Now officials have launched a $16bn blueprint to bring tourists back, including high-profile pop concerts, horse-racing at the legendary Jockey Club and four new giant pandas. One small but crucial part of it focuses on taxi drivers.
Hong Kong's cabbies are famously rude, and getting ruder. In 2023 there were 11,500 complaints about them as a group, an increase of 53% on 2022. Requests—for a different route, an open window or a safe arrival—are scorned. Many insist on only taking cash, but will not stop at an atm.
So part of the new programme is a courtesy campaign. Bad behaviour is subject to a penalty-points system, with 11 offences such as taking a longer route qualifying for points; 15 points bring a ban.
Another part of it is just bringing a Luddite contingent into the 21st century. Legislation was proposed in December that will force taxis to accept digital payments and install surveillance cameras. Cabbies are encouraged to 'smile more".
The new measures are unlikely to cheer drivers. The industry is beset by an ageing workforce, dwindling pay and growing competition. Some 60% of cabbies are 60 or older. In 2023 an 87-year-old taxi driver had three accidents in nine days. Few can afford to retire and new recruits are put off by the low pay. 'Around 40 years before, taxi drivers earned enough salary for their family, but now it's not enough," says Tsz Lok Hui, a cabbie. The average take-home is equivalent to $29,000 a year, less than the median wage.
The number of licences is capped by the government. They are traded in a loosely regulated market and rented out to drivers, who are self-employed. To buy one costs around $350,000, says Mr Hui, with 'the top price" around $900,000. To rent his taxi costs $120 a day. So after 12 hours he earns about $75.
Hong Kong taxi drivers are also being overtaken by Uber. The app's legal status is unclear—the city has no regulations covering ride-hailing apps—but 46% of residents use it, according to the company. Some taxi drivers have taken matters into their own hands: last summer they went undercover to try to report Uber drivers to the police. But the authorities may be reluctant to clamp down because Uber projects an image of modernity and appeals to tourists. A taxi union threatened to strike in March unless officials cracked down, but it was averted at the last minute after the government promised to better enforce the law. Grumpy taxi drivers also push passengers to Uber, admits Mr Hui.
And then there are the mainland tourists. Some 34m of the 45m visitors to Hong Kong in 2024 came from mainland China. Cabbies seem to retain a particular disdain for mainlanders, a feeling returned with interest by Mandarin-speaking tourists. On Xiaohongshu, a mainland social-media app, posts with the hashtag 'Hong Kong taxis ripping off passengers" have 480,000 views and counting. In one recent post a mainlander complained that a taxi driver overcharged her by 220%. 'Why does the government tolerate the existence of these bad apples?" she asked. From official campaigns and mainland tourists, the pressure to smile is increasing.
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