Operation Mode, Fares and Receipts 營運模式、車費及收據

Basic Information 基本資料

A taxi used to carry passengers for hire or reward must have a valid taxi licence. There are three types (urban, New Territories and Lantau), an individual or a company may hold one, and the holder is the taxi's registered owner.

The trade has three main roles. A rentee-driver rents a taxi from its owner to drive it. An owner-driver owns and drives the taxi and also rents it to rentee-drivers part of the time. A renter-owner only rents the taxi out and does not drive it. Rental terms are normally agreed directly between the owner and the hirer.

A taxi fleet licence is an optional extra. Existing owners can group their taxis into a fleet and apply to the Transport Department. The licence does not replace taxi licences and is not needed to run a taxi business. The licensee must be a company registered in Hong Kong and must comply with the relevant laws and licence conditions.

Ride-hailing passenger service must meet three conditions together: the private car has a valid ride-hailing vehicle permit, the driver holds a ride-hailing vehicle driving permit, and the service is booked through a platform with a valid ride-hailing service licence. The vehicle must also be registered in an individual's name and may be driven to provide the service only by that registered owner (the owner-driver requirement).

Vehicle Identification 車輛標識

A general taxi must have a roof sign showing "TAXI", lit during the hours of darkness when the taxi is available for hire and clearly visible from the front and rear. Both sides must be marked "TAXI" and "的士". A white-on-green plate at the front and on the back shows the seating capacity in the registration document.

Body colour shows the permitted operating area: red for urban taxis, green for New Territories taxis and blue for Lantau taxis.

Fleet licensees may design the livery and markings of their fleet taxis, subject to Transport Department approval. Because their appearance can differ, every fleet taxi must display a Taxi Fleet Certificate on the front windscreen and Fleet Taxi Plates at the front and rear. The plate's background colour uses the same code: red for urban, green for New Territories and blue for Lantau.

A ride-hailing vehicle providing the service must display the ride-hailing vehicle certificate issued by the Transport Department, in the position and manner specified by the Commissioner for Transport, so that law enforcement officers and the public can recognise it. Leaving the certificate on display during private use is not an offence.

Mode of Picking Up Passengers 接載乘客模式

A taxi may carry up to six passengers and may pick them up directly on the street or take orders through ride-hailing channels. Normally the driver may stop to pick up or set down only at a taxi stand for that type of taxi, or when a passenger asks or an intending passenger hails. The Commissioner may designate an area of road where taxis may stop for hire, and may designate a taxi stand as a cross-harbour taxi stand.

Fleet taxi stopping places are at locations such as the airport, some boundary control points, the West Kowloon Station of the Express Rail Link, some Airport Express stations, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and Hong Kong Disneyland. Marked by road markings and traffic signs, they let passengers with pre-booked trips board fleet taxis.

A ride-hailing vehicle is a private car and may carry up to seven passengers. It cannot pick up passengers directly on the street and may accept only orders booked and dispatched through a licensed platform. General private car rules apply, for example picking up and setting down only in non-restricted zones and general lay-bys. The service must not be provided on closed roads or in restricted zones or prohibited areas.

Fare Arrangement 車費安排

A taxi fare is generally the charge shown on the taxi meter, based on the rates in Schedule 5 to the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374D).

The alternative is chartering. Under regulation 38 of Cap. 374D, a registered taxi owner may hire out a taxi on a time-rental basis. The charge may be based on the rental period (whether or not a surcharge applies to the mileage run) or on other terms agreed with the hirer.

Fleet licensees may customise fares only for pre-arranged journeys. A customised fare can be a booking fee agreed in advance on top of the metered fare, or a lump sum agreed with the passenger before the journey starts. Street-hailing trips must follow the Schedule 5 rates, as for general taxis.

Licensed platforms may set their own ride-hailing fares, provided passengers know the fare arrangements before the journey starts. The Government also has the power to regulate these arrangements where necessary.

Payment of Fares 支付車費方式

Taxi passengers may pay in cash. Since 1 April 2026, the law has also required drivers to allow payment by at least one QR code e-payment means and at least one non-QR code e-payment means. This is a minimum and both types are needed, but the driver chooses the specific means according to operational needs.

For ride-hailing vehicles, the licensed platform chooses and provides the payment methods. These are generally electronic, for example a credit card or e-wallet linked to the platform's application, with the fare settled by deduction.

Provision of Receipt 提供收據

Every taxi must have a receipt printing device, and a passenger may ask the driver for a receipt after paying the fare. A faulty device does not end this arrangement: the driver should issue a handwritten receipt on a pre-printed form.

A passenger who hails a taxi through a ride-hailing channel can usually download an electronic receipt from the trip history in the mobile application.

For ride-hailing vehicles, the duty falls on the licensed platform. When the journey is completed, it must issue a trip receipt to the hirer or passenger, stating the specific details of the trip.