LegCo Panel on Transport

Permitted Area for Lantau Taxis

INTRODUCTION

The Transport Advisory Committee (TAC) has recommended athe permitted area for the operation ofn extension of the operating areas for Lantau taxis, taking into account the development of North Lantau and the new airport at Chek Lap Kok.

BACKGROUND

2. Lantau taxis were introduced in December 1982 in response to requests from Lantau residents for a taxi service. A total of 20 Lantau taxis were permitted to operate on all roads on Lantau Island except Ngong Ping Road for safety reasons. This prohibition was lifted in October 1993 when Ngong Ping Road was improved. The number of Lantau taxis was increased from 20 in 1982 to 30 in early 1984 and to 40 in late 1984. Since then there has been no further increase in the number of Lantau taxis.

3. The role of Lantau taxis is to provide a personalized form of public transport on Lantau Island. According to surveys conducted by Transport Department in early 1996, the availability of Lantau taxi services has improved during weekdays and deteriorated slightly during weekends compared to 1995.

4. The preliminary proposals of the Transport Study for the New Airport (TRANSNA) were the subject of an extensive public consultation exercise from mid December 1995 to April 1996. The following proposals on taxi services for North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Island were made -

  1. Lantau taxis should continue to provide a local taxi service in South Lantau. Their operating areas in North Lantau should be confined to the Tung Chung AR Station, the clinic at Tung Chung New Town and Tung Chung old village. In addition, they should be allowed to serve the Ground Transportation Centre (GTC) at Chek Lap Kok Airport;
  2. Urban taxis should be permitted to operate on Chek Lap Kok Island and Lantau Island except for the closed roads in South Lantau; and
  3. NT taxis should be permitted to serve the GTC and the Tsing Yi AR Station only.

5. Both the urban and the NT taxi trade welcomed the proposal in respect of their respective operating boundaries and had not expressed any objection to the proposal in respect of Lantau taxis. However, the Lantau taxi trade and the Islands District Board expressed strong objections to the proposed arrangement for Lantau taxis as they considered that Lantau taxis should be allowed to operate in the whole of North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Island. They argued that these two areas were part of Lantau Island and that Lantau residents should have direct access to these areas by Lantau taxis.

6. As population intake into Tung Chung New Town will commence in mid 1997, an early decision is required on the operation boundary for Lantau taxis. The operating boundary of NT taxis will be dealt with in late 1997 nearer the time of the opening of Chek Lap Kok Airport.

ASSESSMENT

7. Transport Department has analyzed the following options for extending the operating areas for Lantau taxis -

  1. Option A - TRANSNA’s proposal, i.e., Lantau taxis would be permitted to serve South Lantau, Tung Chung AR Station, the clinic at Tung Chung New Town, Tung Chung old village, and the GTC of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok (see Annex A);
  2. Option B - To serve the whole of Lantau Island and the GTC of the new airport (see Annex B); and
  3. Option C - To serve the whole of Lantau Island and the whole of Chek Lap Kok Island (see Annex C).

In making their assessment, factors such as the legal right of Lantau taxi operators, the effect of the proposals on the availability of taxi services, the condition of Tung Chung Road, and the acceptability of the proposals to the taxi trade and to the residents of Lantau Island have been taken into account.

Legal right of Lantau taxis operators

8. Schedule 7 of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Chapter 374) provides that Lantau taxis are permitted to operate on "the island of Lantau". The Laws of Hong Kong do not provide any definition of "the island of Lantau". Legal advice is that while North Lantau is clearly part of Lantau Island, whether Chek Lap Kok Island is a part of Lantau Island is arguable. Option A which limits the operation of Lantau taxis to a few designated points in North Lantau and the GTC of the new airport, would deprive Lantau taxis operators of part of their legal right to operate in North Lantau. If we take into account this argument and the proposals of TRANSNA, the permitted area for Lantau taxis should at least be extended to cover the locations under Option B.

Level Availability of taxi services

9. Under Option A, the availability of taxi services for North Lantau would be low, since only urban taxis could provide an unrestricted service for North Lantau. Given the long distance between North Lantau and the main operating areas of urban taxis, the availability of urban taxis within North Lantau may not meet the demand. Also, there would be no taxi service between South Lantau and most places in North Lantau. Neither would there be any direct taxi service between South Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Island, other than the GTC of the new airport.

10. Under Option B, the availability of taxi services for North Lantau would be improved, and a direct taxi service between North Lantau and South Lantau would be available. But there would not be any direct taxi service between most parts of Chek Lap Kok Island and South Lantau, since urban taxis will not have access to Tung Chung Road.

11. Of the three options, only Option C would provide a direct taxi service between North Lantau and South Lantau, as well as a direct taxi service between Chek Lap Kok Island and South Lantau. However, such extension of the operating area for Lantau taxis may reduce the availability of taxis in South Lantau, and the situation would have to be monitored by Transport Department to see whether it is necessary to issue additional Lantau taxi licences.

12. Having considered the three options, the TAC has recommended the adoption of Option C, i.e. to permit Lantau taxis to operate on the whole of Lantau Island andwhole of Chek Lap Kok Island. This option would provide a direct taxi service between Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok Island.

Capacity of Tung Chung Road

13. In view of its width, Tung Chung Road has a capacity of only about 100 vehicles per hour in both directions. Option A has the merit of keeping the taxi traffic on Tung Chung Road to a minimum while Options B and C would attract more taxi trips. On the other hand, allowing Lantau taxis to serve the whole of North Lantau and the whole of Chek Lap Kok Island would make the continued prohibition of private cars from the use of Tung Chung Road, as proposed by TRANSNA, more acceptable to the residents of Lantau Island.

THE WAY FORWARD

14. Schedule 7 of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374) will be amended to set out the revised permitted area for Lantau taxis.

The amendment regulation is expected to take effect in May 1997.

The recommendations will be put to the Executive Council for consideration.

Transport Branch
Government Secretariat
18 February 1997

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