Latest news with #EasyRide
RTHK
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- RTHK
1,000 taxis to hit roads by end of July in fleets push
1,000 taxis to hit roads by end of July in fleets push All five taxi fleets will receive official licenses next month despite not meeting a target of putting 60 percent of their envisaged fleets on the road. Photo: RTHK Around 1,000 taxis will hit the road by the end of July as part of the government's push for a fleet system, Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee announced on Friday. She said five fleets – granted conditional licenses last year – have begun trial runs and provided more than 120,000 rides. The fleet operators are, Lee added, set to be issued official licenses. The government had, in the initial stages of the push, said the five fleets would operate a total of 3,500 taxis and that they would need to reach 60 percent of full operations to be granted an official license. One of the five operators, Amigo, said its fleet was only one tenth of that originally envisaged, while the others did not reveal the exact sizes of their fleets. Lee said this does not mean the licensing threshold has been lowered and that factors such as service quality and driver training needs have to be taken into account. She said driver recruitment has been difficult. 'We acknowledge that some of the drivers are currently not too familiar with this new concept of taxi fleets and they have been waiting to know more about the individual operation characteristics of the taxi fleets,' she said. The Labour Department, she added, had conducted many recruitment sessions to assist with the hiring of drivers and would continue to offer support. The fleet operators, she said, are in discussions with Octopus to join its "Easy Ride" service after the electronic payments system giant announced in early June that the service would enable people to book and pay for a ride on its app. However, no specific timeline has been announced for the start of the one-stop hailing service..
Time Out
09-06-2025
- Business
- Time Out
Hongkongers will be able to order and pay for taxis on the Octopus app
Hong Kong would probably crumble as a society without Octopus payments, and the company has yet again proven they're not just killing the transport game on home turf. Octopus Cards Limited is soon launching an 'Easy Ride' platform, allowing users to order and pay for cabs directly within 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.
