Taxi groups seek judicial review to restart consultation on Hong Kong government’s plan to launch franchised premium service
- Apprehensive of incurring losses, taxi groups want ‘meaningful’ consultation with government on launch of premium service
- They urge High Court to quash Chief Executive in Council’s order that introduced bill into Legislative Council
Two taxi groups have applied for a judicial review to restart consultation on the Hong Kong government’s plan to introduce a new franchised premium service, saying the proposal would affect the price of licences they held.
The application filed in the High Court on Tuesday came as the government’s Franchised Taxi Services Bill was put on hold at the legislature amid protests against the now-suspended extradition bill.
HKTaxi founders reveal plan to bid for Hong Kong premium taxi franchise
The lawyers of the taxi groups are demanding the court quash the Chief Executive in Council’s initial order to introduce the bill into the Legislative Council “to give the government an opportunity to consult in a meaningful way”.
The two groups are Taxi Dealers and Owners Association and Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association. Their application was filed jointly with Chung Shing Taxi Management, the operator of SynCab, and drivers Li Ho and Stephen Yu Lok-wang.
Under the Franchised Taxi Services Bill introduced on April 16, 600 premium taxis would operate on a trial run – with services such as Wi-fi, phone-charging stations and 24-hour customer care. At least half of the taxis would also offer services for wheelchair users.
These applicants are concerned about the government proposal because they say it has affected taxi licence holders by causing a substantial drop in the market price of existing licences and they fear for further drop if the bill were passed.
Premium taxi scheme holds little appeal for Hong Kong public, survey finds
They are challenging the government’s consultation, which their lawyers argued was “flawed and unfair”.
Their first complaint was that the proposal had been put forward without canvassing any alternative options despite recommendations from the Trade and the Competition Commission.
“The taxi trade was merely informed of the government’s franchised proposal, as opposed to being consulted in a genuine sense,” the writ said.
“When the taxi trade was consulted, the government had already made up its mind on the franchise model.”
They also complained that the government had not issued any consultation document, which should include details of the proposal, alternative options and ways of providing views.
Drivers who were not invited to trade meetings – such as Li and Yu – did not benefit from the consultation.
“On this premise, the Chief Executive in Council’s order for introducing the bill, being the product of an unfair consultation, is tainted with procedural impropriety and should be quashed,” the writ said.
