To enhance the safety and quality of taxi services, applicants pursuing a full driving licence to drive a taxi must complete the pre-service course and obtain a certificate before they are issued a driving licence from October 1.

Answering lawmakers’ questions in the Legislative Council today, Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan said there were 3,837 traffic accidents involving taxis in 2017 and 4,198 in 2019.

He noted that the accidents were mostly driver-related and included driving inattentively or too close to vehicles and losing control.

Mr Chan explained that the course covers knowledge on driving and road safety.

He said: “The Government has all along attached great importance to safe driving among taxi drivers and disseminates relevant messages through publicity and education programmes.

“For instance, the Transportation Department has organised the Safe Driving & Health Campaign to arouse drivers’ awareness of safe driving and their own health conditions.

“The Road Safety Council also conducts promotional campaigns with the theme of driving attentively, to urge drivers to stay focused when driving.”

Mr Chan also pointed out that the Government has been actively promoting smart mobility in recent years and plans to launch a $1 billion Smart Traffic Fund in 2020-21 to provide funding for the research and application of vehicle-related innovation and technology.

He emphasised that the Government is open-minded about any innovation and technology that could effectively improve road and driving safety and welcomes the introduction of new driver assistance systems by vehicle manufacturers in this regard.