Government is proposing to stop allowing drivers to accept fare-cut requests
Taxi passengers could be penalised for soliciting discount fares if a consultation finds that drivers support an amendment to the law.
Chief transport officer Ken Hui Kuen said yesterday that the government would meet taxi business representatives on December 11 to find out whether the industry wanted consultation on the change.
The law currently penalises drivers who tout for passengers by offering discount fares, but according to the Road Traffic Regulation drivers cannot be prosecuted if they agree to a passenger's demand for a discount.
The amendment is aimed at tackling the so-called '80 per cent gang' - drivers who offer at least 20 per cent discount to lure customers and undercut their rivals.
Urban Taxi Drivers Association Joint Committee chairman Kwok Chi-piu said drivers were likely to want a consultation since many of them supported the amendment. He said that up to 90 per cent of the 40,000 drivers had been giving discounts to passengers, and about 7,000 had been doing so routinely.
