Macau’s taxi fare hike has started today – the flagfall has risen to 21 patacas from 19 patacas for the first 1,600 metres, a 10.5 percent increase.
From today, the incremental fare stands at two patacas for every 220 metres after the first 1,600 metres. Until yesterday, the incremental fare was two patacas for every 240 metres after the first 1,600 metres.
The increased taxi fares, which took effect at 00:00 a.m. today, has been formalised by a chief executive order published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday, when the Transport Bureau (DSAT) also issued a statement on the matter.
Passengers now also have to pay more when requesting the cabbie to wait at some point during the ride, or when the taxi needs to stop for a while during the journey for different kinds of situations such as a traffic jam.
From today, passengers have to pay two patacas for every 55 seconds of waiting time. Hitherto, they had to pay the two patacas for every minute of waiting time.
A taxi stops at a traffic light-controlled crossing outside Comendador Ho Yin Park in Zape yesterday. – Photo: MPDG
8-pataca extra fare
Moreover, an additional fare of eight patacas is now charged for taking a taxi from the airport, the Taipa Ferry Terminal, the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the Hengqin joint checkpoint, or the Macau checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB). Until yesterday, the additional fare was five patacas.
However, the additional fare of five patacas remains unchanged for passengers who take a taxi from the University of Macau (UM) Hengqin campus.
The UM’s current campus is on Hengqin island. The Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is exercising jurisdiction over the campus, which has been leased from Zhuhai.
The additional fare of two patacas also remains unchanged for passengers who take a taxi from Taipa en route to Coloane.
The additional fare charged for taxi rides from the Macau peninsula en route to Coloane also remains unchanged at five patacas.
The extra fare of three patacas remains unchanged for each piece of luggage put in the boot.
The city’s taxi fares were last raised in July 2017, when the flagfall was increased from 17 patacas to 19 patacas for the first 1,600 metres. Before the fare hike at that time, the incremental fare was two patacas for every 260 metres after the first 1,600 metres.
The Transport Bureau said last week that the government had determined that the 18 percent fare hike initially proposed by the taxi sector would be too steep, because of which the government was instead proposing that taxi fares should only be increased by around 10 percent.
Yesterday’s DSAT statement underlined that the bureau had only decided to allow the city’s taxi fares to be raised after consulting members of the government-appointed Traffic Consultative Council.
The statement said that the bureau gave its green light to the fare hike after striking the right balance between its impact on residents and helping cabbies cover the rising operation costs.
