Q3. Taxi apps and telephone booking services match customers with taxi drivers. Will taxi drivers be charged with being wilfully refusing or neglecting to accept hire from a hirer if they refuse to take an order referred to or broadcasted to them?
The driver of a taxi shall not without reasonable excuse willfully refuse or neglect to accept a hire from a hirer whether the intention of such hirer is indicated expressly or by implication: see Regulation 37(a) of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374D).
Strictly speaking, a hire request via the taxi apps and telephone booking services is made to all drivers involving in that taxi apps and telephone booking services. Thus, if a taxi driver, having participated in such platform and is notified that there is a request for hire, in the absence of reasonable excuse, the taxi driver may not willfully refuse to neglect to accept a hire from that hirer, despite the fact that the hire request is made via an online or telephone platform.