When my mainland friends talked about Hong Kong, they talked glowingly about the highly user-friendly airport, clean and efficient subway system, comfortable buses and, of course, the romance of crossing the harbor at night on the Star Ferry. But, they had nothing good to say about Hong Kong's taxis, and so most didn't say anything.

I can understand. We Hong Kong people have had a love-hate relationship with our taxis for as long as I can remember. To be sure, Hong Kong taxi fares aren't so expensive compared with those in some other large cities, such as Tokyo, London or New York. But in Tokyo and London, at least, taking a taxi ride is some kind of a treat. You pay for the privilege.

Not so in Hong Kong.

I hate the uniform livery of the city's entire taxi fleet. The two-tone paint of silver over red is anything but pleasing. In Shanghai, for instance, taxis come in many different colors and few people are known to have mistaken them for something else. Even better are those in Beijing. Getting one on the street may be hard. But they are all painted in pleasing and well-coordinated colors and patterns.

Of course, we do have little complaint about the size and mechanical reliability of our taxi fleet. Most are mid-sized Toyota Crowns fueled by liquefied petrol gas (LPG) engines. But the vinyl-covered bench seats can smell and feel particularly awful in the summer. What's more, the design of the seat belts is obviously an oversight. The anchors are usually so deeply imbedded in the joints between the back rests and the seat cushions that finding them can be a lot of work and frustrating.

Our city certainly deserves better taxis.

In fact, both New York and London are moving ahead in revamping their respective taxi fleets. This month, New York awarded a 10-year contract, worth an estimated $1 billion, to Nissan, winner of the Taxi of Tomorrow contest. The contract calls for the replacement of the city's 13,000 taxis in phases with specially designed Nissan models costing about $29,000 each.

The winning model, in the form of a cross-over with sliding back doors, will feature a host of amenities, according to the New York Times. These include airplane-style reading lights, power outlets to charge smartphones and laptops, a glass roof for passengers to look at the concrete jungle from a unique angle and floor lights to help passengers find things when necessary.

Foul odor was among the most common complaints from passengers in focus groups, according to the Times' article. So, an antimicrobial material will be used for flooring to kill germs and absorb odors.

The new taxi will also have a London cabbie-styled Plexiglas partition separating the passenger compartment from the driver in the front. A sliding window or a two-way intercom will be installed so that passengers can talk to the driver.

London has also picked the same Nissan model that won the New York contest to replace its aging taxi fleet. The main difference is in the engine. While those in New York will run on gas, the London version will run on diesel. The engines of these new London taxis will be 50 percent more efficient than those traditional black cabs, according to Nissan. The company said it will begin field tests of purely electric versions of the taxi next year.

Hong Kong has an ambitious plan to introduce an all electric taxi fleet. But the viability of the project has been brought into question, especially after millions of Hong Kong people watched in horror images of an electric taxi in Shenzhen bursting into a fireball after a crash.

Instead of leapfrogging right into electric taxis, it would make better sense for Hong Kong to introduce better designed-taxis driven by clean and efficient engines, fueled by liquid-gas or diesel.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 08/24/2012 page3)