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ExCo approves taxi fare increases
The Governor in Council today (Tuesday) approved a fare increase of 8.5 per cent for urban and New Territories (NT) taxis to take effect on February 4, 1996.
The revised fares will be tabled in the Legislative Council on December 13.
Under the new fare structure, flagfall charges for the first two kilometres will be increased from $13 to $14 for urban taxis, and from $11 to $11.8 for NT taxis.
For every subsequent 0.2 kilometre, the fares for both urban and NT taxis will go up by 10 cents to $1.2 and $1.1 respectively.
The waiting time charge will rise by 10 cents per minute to $1.2 for urban taxis and $1.1 for NT taxis.
A government spokesman said that in considering the fare increase applications, the Executive Council had taken into account such factors as the financial position of the taxi trade, the level and quality of taxi services, the fare differential between taxis and other modes of public transport, and public acceptability of the fare increase.
He pointed out that the approved rate of increase was slightly below the projected inflation rate.
"An annual moderate increase would also help the taxi trade maintain a healthy financial position and most taxi passengers have the choice of using less expensive modes of public transport," the spokesman added.
The Executive Council also agreed that the current level of $5 for telephone booking surcharge and baggage surcharge for urban taxis and $4 for NT taxis should remain unchanged for the time being.
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