There are good suggestions in the proposals submitted by the National Taxi Association and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association to the Government (Taxi, private-hire car firms offer ideas for masterplan; Dec 20).

However, the proposal to allow taxis and private-hire cars to pick up and drop off passengers at bus stops is not one of them.

As more buses ply the roads, existing bus stops will get more crowded. As it is, it is not uncommon to see buses waiting to allow passengers to embark and disembark. Allowing taxis and private cars to do the same at bus stops will make it almost impossible for buses to be punctual.

Furthermore, passengers sometimes take a long time to alight from taxis. Let's also not forget that bus lanes are zoned as such for a specific reason. Allowing cars to go in and out of these lanes just runs against the objective.

Point-to-point chauffeured services do fulfil a role in a multi-modal transport network. Operators and owners of these services would be commended if they could develop more innovative suggestions on how they can be part of the ecosystem by providing a cost-effective and customer-centric service.

Christopher Tang