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In September 1994 Transport Department invited tenders for 300 urban and 100 NT taxi licences, which were taken up between November 1994 and April 1995. In that exercise:
(i)
each tenderer was permitted to bid for no more than one urban taxi licence and no more than one NT taxi licence; and
(ii)
the new licences were not transferable within the first 12 months of registration.
The new measures were designed to make it more difficult and costly for people to speculate in taxi licences. The issue of new licences was effective in improving the availability of taxi services, and the new restrictions prevented new licences from being sold for quick profits. They also had a slight dampening effect on the value of the new licences.
Taxi licences have for many years been bought and sold as licences for operating the vehicles as well as an investment asset. In the past year, both the local residential property and the stock market have gone up; so have the market trading prices of taxi licences. The probable reasons for the increase in licence premiums are -
(a) general confidence in the future of the local economy;
(b)
a relatively low interest rate; and
(c)
a more relaxed lending policy adopted by some local financial institutions in respect of taxi licences.
We will continue to monitor closely changes in the taxi licence premiums, the availability of taxi services, and the financial position of the taxi trade. In addition, the TAC will reconvene its Working Group on Taxi Policy Review, to review the effectiveness of measures adopted since 1994 and, where appropriate, recommend new measures to tighten existing regulations.
End