Macao’s taxi supply will come under renewed pressure next month as 100 radio taxis and up to 300 regular black taxis reach the end of their operating licences, TDM reports.
The Transport Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials DSAT) has confirmed the number of radio taxis, which are blue or red and can be booked by app, whose licences will expire 30 September. The number of hailable black taxis set to exit the market, meanwhile, was estimated by president of the General Union of Taxi Drivers, Leong Sun Iok. Leong said that between 200 and 300 black taxis’ licences would expire at the end of the same month.
In a city already known for its cab shortage and difficulties with booking rides, the news has been met with dismay. Leong highlighted the importance of opening new black taxi tenders, which take about half a year to be processed, and said he wanted to see the sector shift to a company-based operation model.
[See more: Transport Bureau under investigation over apparent radio taxi concession failures]
DSAT has maintained there’s no need for alarm. According to the bureau, the 500 new taxi licences granted last year would be enough to offset this year’s exodus. It added there were currently 1,763 taxis operating in the city – up from 1,220 cabs in the third quarter of 2024.
However, vice chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee Lam Chi-chao told TDM he remained pessimistic as demand for taxis was increasing in tandem with Macao’s booming tourism numbers.
Lam urged the government to immediately push measures like improving taxis’ booking systems and developing a dynamic allocation system for cars based on data.
