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Taxi surcharge from Kowloon Station to Intercontinental Hotel?

Taxi surcharge from Kowloon Station to Intercontinental Hotel?

Old May 20, 2017, 8:03 am
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Taxi surcharge from Kowloon Station to Intercontinental Hotel?

I recently took a taxi from Kowloon Station to the Intercontinental.

The meter read 39.6 HKD.

I tried to give the driver 40, he said I owed 43.

I didn't argue, I gave him 43, figuring there was a surcharge I was unaware of.

Did I get fleeced for 3 HKD or was there a toll along the way or hidden surcharge for taxis from the station?

I did have two bags with me but put them in the back seat and not the in the trunk, the driver never touched them.
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Old May 20, 2017, 8:24 am
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No - that was fine. It's not a surcharge. The taxi fares changed recently and it takes a few weeks for all the meters to be updated to the new rates. There should have been a laminated paper chart in the taxi that showed the conversion from the old metered rate to the new one.

An old metered fare of $39.6 is $42.7 under the new tariffs for urban taxis. Details here: http://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in...017/index.html

Last edited by christep; May 23, 2017 at 2:04 am Reason: typo
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Old May 20, 2017, 8:56 am
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OK, thanks. I think there was a laminated chart in the taxi but I had assumed it was just showing total km = $ like in Bangkok taxis.

Hong Kong taxi drivers are usually pretty honest, I'd never believe a driver in some countries who said "Give me more money the rates have gone up."

I have had Bangkok drivers tell me there's 50 baht surcharge going to the airport (it's only from the airport) and I had a Barcelona driver try to tell me there was a surcharge to the train station (again, it's only from the station).
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Old May 21, 2017, 3:49 am
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
I did have two bags with me but put them in the back seat and not the in the trunk, the driver never touched them.
For the record, the placement of the bag has no bearing to the luggage charge.

You can still be charged for the luggage fee even they are placed within cabin.

But again - it is in the driver's discretion.
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Old May 22, 2017, 5:06 pm
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Originally Posted by garykung
For the record, the placement of the bag has no bearing to the luggage charge.
Well, the link above says that personal hand baggage placed in the cabin is exempt.
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Old May 22, 2017, 11:35 pm
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Yes, but "personal hand baggage" is defined as (more or less) cabin baggage size, so anything bigger in the car can be charged. For example, sometimes a large suitcase is strapped into the front passenger seat if the boot is full. That would be chargeable.
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Old May 23, 2017, 1:24 am
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Originally Posted by christep
An old metered fare of $39.6 is $43.7 under the new tariffs for urban taxis. Details here: http://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in...017/index.html
Small typo there - it's $42.70 not $43.70, I would be surprised if any HK taxi driver rounded down
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Old May 23, 2017, 5:49 am
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
Well, the link above says that personal hand baggage placed in the cabin is exempt.
You seem missing the keyword "light".

Originally Posted by christep
Yes, but "personal hand baggage" is defined as (more or less) cabin baggage size, so anything bigger in the car can be charged. For example, sometimes a large suitcase is strapped into the front passenger seat if the boot is full. That would be chargeable.
Actually, the existing law does not define "personal hand baggage" clearly.

Given that air travel is different from ground transportation, I would say it really depends on the driver accepting cabin baggage as "personal hand baggage".
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Old May 23, 2017, 9:08 pm
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Originally Posted by garykung
Actually, the existing law does not define "personal hand baggage" clearly.

Given that air travel is different from ground transportation, I would say it really depends on the driver accepting cabin baggage as "personal hand baggage".
From http://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in...017/index.html

"1. Additional Charge for Baggage:

In general, additional charge for baggage may be levied on:

> every piece of baggage that is carried inside the baggage compartment; or
> every piece of baggage with total dimensions (length + width + height) exceeding 140cm that is carried inside the passenger compartment."
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Old May 24, 2017, 1:07 am
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Originally Posted by christep
From http://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in...017/index.html

"1. Additional Charge for Baggage:

In general, additional charge for baggage may be levied on:

> every piece of baggage that is carried inside the baggage compartment; or
> every piece of baggage with total dimensions (length + width + height) exceeding 140cm that is carried inside the passenger compartment."
Again - I mean the law:

http://www.hklii.org/eng/hk/legis/re...l_hand_baggage
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Old May 29, 2017, 12:25 am
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That's too bad that the fares went up. Oh well, these things are bound to happen.

Originally Posted by jphripjah
Hong Kong taxi drivers are usually pretty honest, I'd never believe a driver in some countries who said "Give me more money the rates have gone up."
I agree with this. HKG taxi drivers can be a real pain in the butt sometimes before and right after you get on (eg, demanding a million bucks to take you to the top of Peak, insisting on taking you to HKIA when you just wanna go to Kowloon Sta, refusing to take you if they don't like your destination). But to my knowledge I've never experienced dishonesty from HK cab drivers when it comes to bs upcharges beyond the agreed-upon price.
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Old May 29, 2017, 5:06 am
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OK. Out of curiosity, why don't they like going to the Peak on the meter? Aren't there usually tourists up there they can drive back down? Or is there a huge queue they would have to join?
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Old May 29, 2017, 5:16 am
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I suspect evergrn meant to the very top of the Peak, not just to the Peak Galleria / Tram station. The top of the hill is actually 150m higher (552m) than what most people think of as the Peak (at 400m). There's a road up which taxis can take, and a rather nice park up there, (along with a big radio station which makes the very top of the hill inaccessible). But they'd be quite unlikely to get a fare back down - most people who do go there do so by walking, either up the road, or up the steps from the other side.

The Peak Galleria / tram station is where it is because it gets a much higher number of days per year not in the clouds than the very top does, and that's the level where all the original "Peak" residences for colonial big wigs were built.

Last edited by christep; May 29, 2017 at 6:35 am
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Old May 29, 2017, 5:57 am
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Originally Posted by jphripjah
OK. Out of curiosity, why don't they like going to the Peak on the meter? Aren't there usually tourists up there they can drive back down? Or is there a huge queue they would have to join?
Simple - they are mostly one-way trip. The remaining trip will be on the tram.

That's no certainty that taxis can pick up flags at the Peak.
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Old May 29, 2017, 8:03 am
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Originally Posted by garykung
Simple - they are mostly one-way trip. The remaining trip will be on the tram.

That's no certainty that taxis can pick up flags at the Peak.
OK. Forgive me, I haven't spent that much time in Hong Kong. Why are people more likely to take taxi up and tram down rather than tram up and taxi down?
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