Hong Kong to simplify written taxi exam in effort to ease driver shortage
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that the Transport Department (TD) was undergoing a comprehensive review of the written test, with changes to be rolled out in the fourth quarter of this year.
'Having considered that modern navigation technology can now assist taxi drivers in quickly locating destinations and planning the most efficient driving routes, the TD will substantially reduce and simplify the questions on locations and routes…and update the question bank, with a view to better aligning the test with practical needs,' she said.
Chan assured that successful candidates would still possess the necessary professional knowledge and qualities of a taxi driver, including a fundamental understanding of major road networks and frequently visited locations.
She highlighted that after the test was streamlined in 2020, the number of candidates sitting the test had increased by 40 per cent, from less than 10,000 candidates in 2019 to around 14,000 last year.
The number of questions was reduced from 140 to 90, and the testing time was cut from 70 minutes to 45 minutes. Consequently, the pass rate significantly improved from 37 per cent in 2019 to 60 per cent last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong tourists undeterred by manga prediction that quake will hit Japan on July 5
Hong Kong travel agencies have not recorded widespread cancellations of Japan-bound tour groups for the coming weekend, despite a manga artist's widely-discussed prediction that a mega-earthquake will hit the country on Saturday. But some business insiders suggested the number of tours this summer was expected to fall by half compared with last year. The Japan National Tourism Organisation reported that only 193,100 visitors from Hong Kong were recorded coming to the country in May, down by 11.2 per cent from the same month last year. The quake prediction, which originated from a manga titled The Future That I Saw, Complete Edition, published in 2021, pinpoints July 5 as the date for the mega quake. In a previous edition of the work first published in 1999, author Ryo Tatsuki had warned of a major disaster in March 2011, a date which turned out to coincide with the cataclysmic earthquake that struck Japan's northern Tohoku region that very month. Despite Internet chatter on Tatsuki's 'prediction', two prominent Hong Kong travel agencies, EGL Tours and Arrow Travel Agency, told the Post they had not experienced significant cancellations of Hong Kong tour groups set to depart to Japan soon.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Tech war: US lifts export control of chip design software to China
The US said on Thursday it had lifted export controls on certain chip design software to China, according to statements from Siemens, Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems. Advertisement Three of the world's largest electronic design automation (EDA) software developers have been informed by the US government that sales of their products to China would no longer require special approval, signalling a further easing of bilateral tensions. San Jose, California-based Cadence said in an email that the US Bureau of Industry and Security, under the Department of Commerce, 'has rescinded the export restrictions' that were imposed late in May. Synopsys, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, referenced a letter from the Commerce Department, confirming that the recently imposed curbs on sales to China 'have now been rescinded, effective immediately', in a statement on the company's website. Siemens Digital Industries Software, located in Plano, Texas, also received notification regarding the end of the export control, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday. Advertisement Both Cadence and Synopsys have said that they were working to restore access to their software and technology for China-based clients. Siemens has already reinstated access, according to the CCTV report.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Singapore firm under scrutiny as Malaysia's mining bribery scandal widens
Malaysia 's anti-corruption agency is now targeting a Singapore-registered mining company as part of its investigation into a bribery scandal in Sabah that has already seen two state lawmakers and a businessman charged in court on Monday. The case captured public attention after the businessman, Albert Tei Jiann Cheing, released covert videos showing state lawmakers engaged in bribe negotiations with him, implicating several prominent figures in Malaysia's second-largest state. Despite claiming to be a whistle-blower, Tei was charged on Monday alongside state assemblymen Yusof Yacob and Andi Suryady Bandy with bribery in exchange for helping to facilitate the approval of a mineral prospecting licence. This latest development came from an exposé by Malay-language news website Malaysia Corporate on Wednesday, claiming that Tei was backed and funded by a tycoon who manages a Singapore-listed company. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki. Photo: Hadi Azmi In response, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki said the commission was scrutinising the allegations and would be summoning witnesses to assist in the investigation. 'We will be recording statements from relevant individuals soon,' Azam said.
