The Transport Department on Monday said it has issued a license to one of Hong Kong's five taxi fleet operators as it ramps up efforts to improve taxi services in the city.

The department said in a statement that it issued a five-year license to SynCab Service Ltd, which officially started operations on Monday, including providing online hailing services.

The TD said it will issue licenses to the four other taxi fleet operators--Big Boss Taxi Company, CMG Fleet Management, Tai Wo Management, and Sino Development (International)—later this month so that they can start providing services as soon as possible and help reform the taxi trade. 

ALSO READ: 3,500 souped-up taxis set to take to the road in HK

All taxi fleets provide online hailing services and they may customize fares for pre-arranged journeys, charging a booking fee on top of the metered fare or charging a lump sum fare before the journey starts, the department said.

It added that the fares of fleet taxis may vary for pre-arranged journeys depending on the circumstances at the time of booking and the types of taxis requested by the passenger.

For example, higher fares may be charged during peak hours or when the passenger requests a premium taxi. For street-hailing trips, fleet taxis shall charge according to the same fare schedule as general taxis, the department said.

The TD said it has also approved the livery design and markings of Syncab Services’ fleet, which is required to display fleet taxi plates at the front and rear of its taxis, and a fleet taxi certificate on their windscreens.

ALSO READ: Hong Kong to introduce 4,000 hi-tech electric taxis this year

The department said it has also set up about 80 designated fleet taxi stopping places across 13 locations, such as the airport, certain boundary control points, the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, some Airport Express stations, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and the Hong Kong Disneyland.

The five fleet taxi operators earlier started trial operations, and have provided a total of nearly 120,000 trips as of late June.

The five operators have been conducting gearing-up work since July last year, including procuring new vehicles and carrying out modifications, installing in-vehicle safety devices, setting up electronic payment systems, developing and testing online hailing applications and providing training to drivers.

“Upon the official launch of the fleets, we believe that through a series of promotions, positive feedback from passengers, benefits for fleet drivers, and the gradual evolvement of the trade's image, more passengers will come to know and use the taxi fleet services,” said a spokesman for the department.

READ MORE: Hong Kong’s taxi turf war: Can tradition and tech coexist?

“This will, in turn, provide fleet drivers with a more favorable and stable income, which will help attract more taxi drivers to join the fleets and gradually enhance the fleets' capacity," he added.

The TD said it will also closely monitor the service performance of the fleets to ensure that their quality meets the public's requirements.