Plan for full taxi access to Discovery Bay sparks anger among some residents

2026.03.21 13:20 Taxi access in Discovery Bay is currently restricted to the north of the development. Photo: Roy Issa Some Discovery Bay residents have expressed frustration over a proposal to allow unrestricted taxi access to the seaside resort-like neighbourhood in Hong Kong, with a petition calling for greater public consultation garnering more than 1,100 signatures. In a reply to the South China Morning Post on Saturday, the Transport Department also confirmed it had received a taxi proposal from Discovery Bay’s management company, as well as “different views” from residents. Taxis have had limited access to Discovery Bay since 2014, but it has been restricted to the north plaza of the sprawling residential area developed by HKR International on Lantau Island. A developer’s notice, dated January 2026 and seen by the SCMP on Saturday, outlined a proposal to add four new taxi ranks in the neighbourhood, including at the Discovery Bay Golf Club, and to allow point-to-point drop-off and pickup. The notice described existing transport arrangements as “extremely inconvenient” given the community’s development and ageing population, posing a “significant obstacle” to the elderly, those with disabilities and people needing to travel after midnight. The developer said it had collected 4,000 signatures from residents in Discovery Bay and nearby Peng Chau and Nim Shuen Wan urging the government to address the transport shortage and that it had actively engaged with authorities to explore expanding services. The developer said it commissioned British professional services firm Arup to conduct a traffic impact assessment and come up with improvement measures. It added that management would deploy additional security personnel and use artificial intelligence to identify and crack down on any traffic violations. The full plan was expected to be implemented by the first quarter this year, upon completion of the consultation, the notice. But the proposal has sparked concern amo

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