Taxis, Hong Kong

Honk Kong is full of taxi cars, and they are available for you in most major sites, hotels, shopping centers, main streets, museums, touristic sites.
The drivers are friendly in general, the only common problem is not being able to speak English.
If you staying Kowloon as I did, moving by taxis in and out the peninsula to Hong Kong Island can be pain in the nick, as they will pass the tunnel toll to the passangers.
There are three tunnels between the two sides. West Tunnel is the fastest and the most expenisve as they will charge you HK $35, The East which costs HK $25, and harbour Tunnel which costs you extra HK $10 I beleive.

I was takig taxi from Kowlook Shangri-la hotel, and I was given a small piece of paper by the guy who supervise taxis trafic by the enterance.
The paper has number writen by hand, and it explain by print, The Nnumber written below is the license plate of your taxi. Please retain this receipt for your reference in the event that communication with the driver is required after you have left the vehicle. cool huh

If going to an address from the airport by taxi, get it written down in Cantonese so that you can show it to taxi driver. He won't understand written English or (probably) spoken English.

One time I was all over the island trying to get to my friend's apartment because my piece of paper was in English.

Taxis in Hong Kong are classfied into three types, the Red Taxi, the Green Taxi and the Blue Taxi. The Red Taxi can travel around Hong Kong, the Green Taxi can only travel in the New Territories and the Blue Taxi can only travel in the Lantau Island.
The taxi fare is different amond the three type of taxis. The most expensive is the Red Taxi and the cheapest is the Blue Taxi. But the easiest taxi that can be reached is the red one. The starting fare of the Red Taxi is HKD$12.5(Euro 1.25, US$1.6). The Green and Blue Taxis are a few dollars cheaper. Only cash is accepted for all taxis. There should be a meter showing the fare of each ride. For a ride from Tsim Sha Tsui, the fare should not be greater than HKD$30. There is not extra fare for ober-night ride. But when you pass through the tunnels and specific bridges like the Tsing Ma Bridge, you need to pay for an extra fare. You also need to pay for the luggage. For more details, you may refer to the label sticked on the door of the taxis.
There are taxi drivers who compromise the fare with passengers before the ride. It is happened when passengers need to travel for a long distance. Usually the fare of it is cheaper than using meter. But it is ILLEGAL. It is better to use the meter in order to avoid being cheated.
Taxis can stop everywhere, according to the new regulation. But for getting in the taxis, only those area which are not prohibited is allowed to get in( that means those area with "double yellow line" are not allowed to get in the taxis".
Taxi drivers are generous and a bit talkative. Please don't be afraid if the taxi drivers try to talk with you during the ride. Or they will provide you more information of travelling in Hong Kong.

this is a private taxi service which i got, to go to the airport from the city. there is this small indian shop selling, eating and drinking items on ground floor, miramar mansion (not hotel), in nathan road.
the owner provides a car/minivan service to airport. he charges only hk$200 for this service. compared to hk$450 by normal cab.

it should be helpful. i know this is expensive than airport express. but this is fast and reliable and if you have excess lugguage like me, this is a clean bet. the driver is an indian, so i could trust him. and he is a good man too.

Public transport is so good in Hong Kong there will probably be no need ever use a taxi. If you do they are a reasonably cheap and, at night or very early morning, quick way to get around. Bear in mind a couple of things:
-most drivers don't speak English but if you say your destination clearly you will be ok
-it's ok to flag them down in the street
-there is a small surcharge per piece of luggage in the boot (trunk). Let them put it in there. It costs peanuts
-a tip is unexpected but obviously appreciated :)

The taxi is another good means of transportation in Hong Kong. They are plentiful, easy to spot, and easy to hail. Just look for the small red cars with the white taxi sign on the roof. Base charge is 15 HK$ (about US$2). A long trip, like Kowloon to Central, will run you about 80 HK$ (US$ 10). Their only drawback is their high cost relative to other modes of public transportation such as the ferries and the subway.

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When there a taxis available there should be a 'for hire' sign displayed by the windscreen and the 'taxis' sign on the roof will be lit up. They cannot stop at bus stops are where there is a yellow line painted next to a kerb.

In Kowloon and Hong Kong Island taxis are red
New Territories taxis are green
Lantau Island taxis are blue

It is often hard to get a taxi during the rush hour, when it rains or during shift changes.

Taxis are in great demand after midnight when public transport stop running for the day.