The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) said in a statement yesterday that it has completed its “Inquiry report on the intelligent terminal system for taxis”, and reaffirmed that the Transport Bureau’s (DSAT) “Supply and maintenance service of the taxi management system”, as well as the system’s monthly service fee, is “legal and reasonable”.
According to the statement, the taxi management system is divided into two parts, the “vehicle device” and the “taxi monitoring system”, and New Leader Tecnologia Informática (Macau) Lda (New Leader) was the winning bidder with the system. The statement pointed out that regardless which company won the bid, the monthly charge for taxi owners to use the “vehicle device” is 300 patacas, while the service fee for the “taxi monitoring system” is borne by the government. The commission stressed that since the implementation of the Legal Regime for Transport of Passengers in Light Vehicles for Renting (referred to as the new law), it has had a positive effect on tackling Macau’s “taxi chaos” situation.
The statement noted that since September 2020, the taxi sector had voiced their dissatisfaction about the taxi system through media and civil society groups. Moreover, the commission had received complaints about the monthly fee for the taxi monitor. Therefore, the commission had been investigating the matter, adding that during the process, the commission scrutinised the bidding proposals, and consulted the opinions expressed by the complainers, DSAT officials and taxi drivers. The commission concluded that the bidding process as well as all the concerns raised showed no illegality.
The statement noted that the new taxi law aims to combat “refusing hire”, “selecting passengers”, “not taking the most direct route to the destination”, “negotiating taxi fare”, “taxi pooling” and “overcharging taxi fare”. As a result, the bureau had launched a combined tender for the two new systems – the “vehicle device” and the “taxi monitor system”, aiming to protect the rights of both passengers and cabbies. The statement underlined that during its investigation, the commission did not find any illegality or irrationality in awarding the combined bid to the current operator. The statement underlined that there is no evidence proving any collusion between the bureau and New Leader.
Meanwhile, concerning the 300-pataca monthly fee, the statement underlined that the main purpose of charging the monthly service fee is to safeguard the interests of the taxi permit holders and avoid New Leader setting the fee too high or raising it due to inflation. The statement pointed out that the fee is clearly listed in the bidding document, so that no matter which company won the bid, the amount of the service fee would be the same. The commission also underlined that the government is already sharing the 150-pataca cost for the “taxi monitoring system”.
The commission reaffirmed that those taxi permit holders who have not paid their deposit or monthly fee because they had doubts about the legality of the fees, the court has already ruled it’s a false allegation. The statement pointed out that New Leader has the right to halt its services to those who fail to pay the fee.
The statement reaffirmed the effectiveness of the new law, noting that the bureau recorded zero cases of illegal taxi operations in 2020, while the Public Security Police (PSP) recorded fewer than 150 cases and under 100 cases in 2021. The statement also pointed out that there were 1,900 cases of overcharging throughout 2019, but the number dropped drastically in 2020 when only eight cases were recorded throughout the whole year. The commission pointed out that the data shows that the new law has “indeed played an important and positive role in combating the ‘taxi chaos’”.
Taxis driving past a hotel in Zape yesterday. Photo: MPDG
