Officials are questioning whether up to 500 new taxis, whose licences were recently put out to tender, will be enough to resolve Macao’s acute cab shortage.
The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, expressed doubts at the Legislative Assembly this week, when questioned by a lawmaker, the Macau Daily Times reports.
“You ask me if the 500 taxis will be enough. Well, I think maybe not, and maybe not even some additional 700 would be enough,” he said.
Rosário went on to explain that the new taxis would ease the problem – not necessarily fix it.
“We need to do this work step-by-step and according to the situation,” he said. “We cannot suddenly exponentially increase the number of taxis from one day to another. It does not work that way.”
He also said that the new batch of taxis would help test the waters, revealing how many cab drivers there were in the city and whether more people were interested in the job.
[See more: These are the best tips for getting a taxi in Macao]
The bids are in for a taxi licence tender launched by the Transport Bureau, and are currently being processed. Ten new licences are up for grabs, each allowing companies to operate up to 50 common (or black) taxis – adding a maximum of 500 to the city’s fleet.
The tender process was launched on 24 November. Demand for cabs from residents and visitors has soared since the scrapping of zero-Covid restrictions at the start of the year, leading to long waits for taxis.
Currently, Macao’s taxi fleet consists of 1,600 vehicles, which is far from enough according to some analysts.
In an interview with local media, a DSAT representative stated that the response towards this public taxi tender was enthusiastic and that the department expects to finish reviewing the various bids in December.
