Hongkongers will be able to order and pay for taxis on the Octopus app
The electronic payment platform has partnered with BigBoss Taxi for this new service – the company is part of the new colourful taxis now running on Hong Kong's roads. BigBoss' fleet includes options for pure electric eco-friendly cars, hybrid models, six-seater luxury cars, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles. For now, there will be approximately 300 taxis on 'Easy Ride', but Octopus has plans to expand the service with the four other government-licensed fleets.
With multiple taxi fleets integrated into the Octopus app, passengers will not need to download separate programmes for each taxi brand. Users can also book taxis then settle the journey by paying seamlessly with Octopus cards, Mobile Octopus, or Octopus Wallet.
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Time Out
7 days ago
- Time Out
Your ultimate guide to Hong Kong's pet-friendly buses
Ever since Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) launched its pet-friendly bus services, the response has been overwhelmingly positive in Hong Kong's pet owners. After all, in a city where dogs are not allowed on public transportation and the only option for travelling with pets is to drive or order taxis and Ubers (which gets costly), an affordable bus alternative is a god-send. KMB has gamely added new routes to service more people, with stops now available in neighbourhoods like To Kwa Wan, Sham Tseng, Stanley, and more. Read on to find out more about week day pet bus routes, monthly tickets, and August-exclusive adventure buses. What is KMB's Pet-Friendly Island Day Trips event? For three days in the month of August, KMB's pet buses will run to the more far-flung locations of Cheung Sha Beach, Shek Pik Reservoir, and Tai O. Each of the 'tour' days will stop by different pick-up and drop-off points, such as Tung Chung, Yuen Long, and Science Park, to allow more pet owners around Hong Kong to experience the bus services. The day trips will last for around eight hours each with itineraries in place, so all you have to do is show up. What are the schedules for KMB's Pet-Friendly Island Day Trips? KMB's August 3 trip departing from Sheung Shui, Tai Po, and Tung Chung has already finished, but here are the schedules for the other two pet day trips this month. August 24 trip: Departing from Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, and Tung Chung Bus route: 9.10am pick-up at Long Ming Street in Yuen Long, 9.30am at V City in Tuen Mun, 10am at Tung Chung station on Tat Tung Road → Upper and Lower Cheung Sha Beach (stay for 45 to 60 minutes) → Shek Pik Reservoir (stay for 30 to 45 minutes) → Tai O (stay for two and a half hours) → 4.10pm drop-off at Tung Chung, 4.30pm at V City, 5pm at Yuen Long August 31 trip: Departing from Science Park, Tai Wai, and Tung Chung Bus route: 9.10am pick-up at Fo Yin Road in Science Park, 9.30am at Exit A of Tai Wai MTR station, 10am at Tung Chung station on Tat Tung Road → Upper and Lower Cheung Sha Beach (stay for 45 to 60 minutes) → Shek Pik Reservoir (stay for 30 to 45 minutes) → Tai O (stay for two and a half hours) → 4.10pm drop-off at Tung Chung, 4.30pm at Tai Wai MTR station, 5pm at Science Park How much is it to join KMB's Pet-Friendly Island Day Trips? Tickets can be purchased via KMB's App1933 mobile app. One passenger with one pet will cost $228, while two people with one pet will cost $398. After selecting your route and date, and completing purchase, a confirmation email will be sent and a QR code generated within the app itself. On the day of your adventure, simply scan the QR code upon boarding. For both this special event and other pet-friendly bus routes, tickets will need to be booked in advance, so don't rock up to the bus spots with your dog in tow expecting to be able to swipe your Octopus card as usual. What's the latest with KMB's pet-friendly bus routes? From mid-July, KMB has launched eight brand-new bus routes to four popular destinations for pet-owners, including Go Park Sai Sha, the West Kowloon Cultural District, the East Coast Boardwalk in North Point, and Ma Wan. Pick-up and drop-off stops have also been increased, adding the areas of To Kwa Wan, Sham Tseng, Stanley, Repulse Bay, and The Mills in Tsuen Wan to the pet-friendly routes for the first time. Tickets for one passenger with one pet will cost $60, while two passengers and a pet will pay $90 – this will allow you to hop on and off stops for an unlimited amount of times for one day along a route. What are the newest routes for KMB's pet-friendly buses? Route PB1A to Go Park Sai Sha (double-decker bus and coach) Kwai Fong ⇋ Tsuen Wan West ⇋ Sha Tin ⇋ Go Park Sai Sha Departs Kwai Fong every Saturday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PB1B to Go Park Sai Sha (coach) Kai Tak ⇋ To Kwa Wan ⇋ Diamond Hill ⇋ Tai Wai ⇋ Go Park Sai Sha Departs Kai Tak every Sunday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PB2A to West Kowloon Cultural District (coach) Yuen Long ⇋ Tsuen Wan ⇋ Nam Cheong ⇋ West Kowloon Departs Yuen Long every Saturday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PB2B to West Kowloon Cultural District (double-decker bus and coach) Tuen Mun ⇋ Gold Coast ⇋ Sham Tseng ⇋ Olympic ⇋ West Kowloon Departs Tuen Mun every Sunday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PB3A to East Coast Boardwalk in North Point (coach) Kowloon Tong ⇋ Mong Kok ⇋ Ho Man Tin ⇋ Causeway Bay ⇋ North Point Departs Kowloon Tong every Saturday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PB3B to East Coast Boardwalk in North Point (double-decker bus and coach) Stanley ⇋ Repulse Bay ⇋ Central ⇋ Wan Chai ⇋ Causeway Bay ⇋ North Point Departs Stanley every Sunday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PBS1 to Ma Wan (double-decker bus and coach) Central ⇋ Wan Chai ⇋ West Kowloon Cultural District ⇋ Mei Foo ⇋ Tsing Yi ⇋ Ma Wan Departs Central every Saturday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour Route PBS2 to Ma Wan (coach) Tung Chung ⇋ Tsuen Wan ⇋ Kwai Fong ⇋ Tsing Yi ⇋ Ma Wan Departs Tung Chung every Sunday, from 10am to 6pm; one bus per hour What other services do KMB's pet-friendly buses provide? KMB has recently also added weekday services to their pet-friendly routes, so your adventures are not just limited to the weekends! Every Friday, this bus runs between Tsuen Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui, because happy Fridays are for pets too. Route PBW1 (double-decker bus and coach) Tsuen Wan ⇋ Mei Foo ⇋ Olympic ⇋ West Kowloon ⇋ East Tsim Sha Tsui Departs Tsuen Wan and East Tsim Sha Tsui every Friday, from 12 noon to 6pm; one bus every two hours What is the pet bus monthly pass? If you're planning on using the pet bus services a lot, it would definitely be worth getting a monthly pass. At $100 for one passenger with one pet, and $150 for two passengers with one pet, pet owners can enjoy unlimited rides on KMB's pet-friendly buses for 30 days. The monthly pass covers all normal routes and does not include the special trips or activities of the month, and is not transferable to another person who did not purchase the pass. At just a fraction more than a single-day ticket, this is an absolute steal for outdoorsy pups and their owners. How to use KMB's pet-friendly buses As mentioned earlier, passengers will need to pre-book their pet bus tickets. Make sure you arrive before the scheduled departure time, because late arrivals will not be refunded. However, passengers who have missed their pre-book slot can wait to be assigned on the next service if there is an available spot, at no extra cost. Track the pet buses' schedules on KMB's app to avoid this hassle. The back row of buses, including the last row on the top deck, will be prioritised for cat owners, so felines can be separated from other pets that might alarm them. There is no standing room on pet buses, and all passengers will need to remain seated for the journey. Passengers who have been booked on the same ticket will need to board and alight together; if pick-up and drop-off points are different, a new ticket will need to be purchased.
Daily Record
31-07-2025
- Daily Record
Octopus Energy ad banned over 'misleading' heat pump cost claim
A spokesperson for the energy group "disagreed" with the ruling that the ad "was likely to mislead" An ad for Octopus Energy has been banned for misleading consumers with claims that they could have a heat pump installed for as little as £500. The Facebook ad, seen in September, said "installs from £500". The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints, including from the Energy and Utilities Alliance trade body, which challenged whether the "installs from £500" claim could be substantiated. The complaint also questioned whether the ad had left out crucial information. The ad claimed that "the government grant covers up to 90 per cent of the costs of a new heat pump". It added: "Replace your old broken boiler with an award-winning energy supplier and help stop our reliance on gas." Octopus told the ASA that the claim was based on what their customers would pay, rather than the industry average cost of heat pumps. "We disagree with this ruling," Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product and marketing officer at Octopus Energy, said. "Thirteen per cent of all heat pumps sold by Octopus during the campaign were £500 or less, exceeding the ASA's guideline of 10 per cent. "This clearly has the fossil fuel lobby worried, which is why they are relentlessly pressuring the authorities to undermine the clean energy sector." The firm provided sales data from April 2024 to January 2025 that showed 13.9 per cent of consumers who purchased a heat pump through Octopus Energy did in fact pay £500 or less. In those cases, the total cost of installing a heat pump was £8,000, which, when the £7,500 Bus (Boiler Upgrade Scheme) funding was deducted, gave a final cost of £500. Octopus said they targeted the ad at consumers in their installation coverage area, which accounted for around 86 per cent of postcode districts. They referred to a consumer opinion survey they had commissioned from a third party after receiving notification of the complaints from the ASA, to see what people understood from the claim. The survey showed that 58 per cent understood that the cost of having a heat pump installed by Octopus Energy could be as low as £500 with help from government funding. The ASA said advertising regulations required that price claims such as "from" must not exaggerate the availability or amount of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer. Getting into the fine print, competition and Markets Authority guidance also stated that "from" prices should reflect what a significant proportion of consumers were likely to pay for the advertised product. The ASA said consumers would understand the claim "Installs from £500," in the context of the ad, to mean that a significant proportion of consumers could purchase a heat pump and have it installed by Octopus Energy for £500. However, its assessment of sales data showed that at the time the ad appeared, in September 2024, 5.8 per cent of heat pump sales had been made at or below the price claimed in the ad. In the months after, less than 5.8 per cent of sales made had been at or below the claimed price. For the final two months of 2024, the proportion of heat pumps sold at or below £500 stood between 23 per cent and 24 per cent. The data did not show that a significant proportion of sales, at the time the ad appeared, though, were at the claimed price of £500. "We considered the price did not reflect what a significant proportion of consumers were likely to pay at the time the ad appeared," the ASA said. "We had not seen sufficiently robust evidence that a significant proportion of consumers targeted by the ad could purchase a heat pump and have it installed by Octopus Energy for £500. "We therefore concluded the ad was likely to mislead." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again in the form complained about. "We told Octopus to ensure that suitably robust evidence was held to demonstrate that any claimed 'from' price could be achieved by a significant proportion of consumers," it added. "We said to ensure ads making price claims for heat pump installation included all material information, including clarification of any government grant included in the advertised price, and the existence of eligibility criteria."
Leader Live
30-07-2025
- Leader Live
Octopus Energy ad banned over heat pump cost claim
The Facebook ad, seen in September, said 'Installs from £500' and continued: 'The government grant covers up to 90% of the costs of a new heat pump. Replace your old broken boiler with an award-winning energy supplier and help stop our reliance on gas.' The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints, including from the Energy and Utilities Alliance trade body, which challenged whether the 'installs from £500' claim could be substantiated, and whether the ad omitted material information. Octopus told the ASA that the claim was based on what their customers would pay, rather than the industry average cost of heat pumps. The firm provided sales data from April 2024 to January 2025 that showed 13.9% of consumers who purchased a heat pump through Octopus Energy paid £500 or less. In those cases, the total cost of installing a heat pump was £8,000, which, when the £7,500 Bus (Boiler Upgrade Scheme) funding was deducted, gave a final cost of £500. Octopus said they targeted the ad at consumers in their installation coverage area, which accounted for around 86% of postcode districts. They referred to a consumer opinion survey they had commissioned from a third party after receiving notification of the complaints from the ASA, to see what people understood from the claim, finding that 58% of respondents understood that the cost of having a heat pump installed by Octopus Energy could be as low as £500 with help from government funding. The ASA said advertising regulations required that price claims such as 'from' must not exaggerate the availability or amount of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer. Competition and Markets Authority guidance similarly stated that 'from' prices should reflect what a significant proportion of consumers were likely to pay for the advertised product. The ASA said consumers would understand the claim 'Installs from £500″, in the context of the ad, to mean that a significant proportion of consumers could purchase a heat pump and have it installed by Octopus Energy for £500. However, its assessment of sales data showed that at the time the ad appeared, in September 2024, 5.8% of heat pump sales had been made at or below the price claimed in the ad. In the preceding months for which Octopus held data, less than 5.8% of sales made had been at or below the claimed price. For the final two months of 2024, the proportion of heat pumps sold at or below £500 stood between 23% and 24%. However, the data did not show that a significant proportion of sales, at the time the ad appeared, were at the claimed price of £500. The ASA said: 'We therefore considered the price did not reflect what a significant proportion of consumers were likely to pay at the time the ad appeared.' It added: 'We had not seen sufficiently robust evidence that a significant proportion of consumers to whom the ad was targeted could purchase a heat pump and have it installed by Octopus Energy for £500. We therefore concluded the ad was likely to mislead.' The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again in the form complained about, adding: 'We told Octopus to ensure that suitably robust evidence was held to demonstrate that any claimed 'from' price could be achieved by a significant proportion of consumers. 'We further told them to ensure ads making price claims for heat pump installation included all material information, including clarification of any government grant included in the advertised price, and the existence of eligibility criteria.' Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product and marketing officer at Octopus Energy, said: 'We disagree with this ruling. 13% of all heat pumps sold by Octopus during the campaign were £500 or less, exceeding the ASA's guideline of 10%. 'This clearly has the fossil fuel lobby worried, which is why they are relentlessly pressuring the authorities to undermine the clean energy sector.'
