The city’s Public Security Police have issued a statement announcing that it is paying close attention to the development of online transport services ordered by mobile phone application in practice here, as some have been applied by unlicensed vehicles running in the city. ‘The [online transport service order] mobile phone application is still a new order format emerging in Macau, where the hailing methods, qualifications of drivers, registered purpose of the vehicles and the transport services vary,’ the police said in the statement, without naming the mobile phone applications currently used in Macau. ‘Some companies claim that their applications can offer faster pick-up service for extra charges, while some have recruited non-commercial vehicles and non-professional drivers to provide the transport service,’ the police added. Vehicles running on commercial purposes other than what has been registered with the transport authority are defined as ‘licence-less’ vehicles, the Transport Bureau explained to Business Daily. According to local traffic laws, drivers found driving these vehicles are liable to a fine of MOP30,000 (US$3,757). Taxi drivers are also liable to a fine of MOP1,000 if it is found that they have charged customers over and above the rates displayed on the meter. The Bureau further noted that the statement police issued highlighted its concerns over the cases of some ‘licence-less’ cars running in the city that pick up customers via online booking application. S.L. Kuaidi Dache circling Macau Hangzhou Kuaidi Technology Co., backed by China’s Alibaba Group and known for its taxi-booking service Kuaidi Dache, has yet to enter the Macau market due to considerations of the city’s small market size, Business Daily learnt from the company. Although the company has already registered its trademark here, Kuaidi Dache is non-committal about its timeframe to offer the service in Macau as the company has preferred to focus its resources on developing the business in neighbouring Hong Kong, according to company spokesperson Mr. Ye Yun.
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