A taxi group has suggested a HK$10 surcharge per trip to finance the cost of new air-conditioning systems if the trade is not exempt from a proposed ban on idling engines.


The suggestion, by the North West Area Taxi Drivers and Operators Association, was put forward at a meeting yesterday with the Environmental Protection Department to discuss the idling-engine ban. Association spokesman Wong Wing-chung said the charge was necessary as drivers would need to retrofit their vehicles with air-conditioning systems that run on battery power, independent of the engine.


"The passengers need to pay for the idling-engine ban, and if they don't, that means they don't support the ban and the government should scrap it," he said.


He said the HK$10 charge was just a preliminary estimate on what would be needed to cover the costs of the air-conditioning system.



However, his call was not well received by other taxi organisations.

"It is far more practical to fight for an exemption that allows taxi drivers to keep their engines running when the weather is hot," said Choi Chi-tak, of the New Territories Taxi Drivers Association.

SCMP