Singapore has more taxis (absolute number and per capita) than Hong Kong. So why is it easier to get a cab in Hong Kong than Singapore?

There are too many taxi drivers; The prices are too high; The larger part of local consumers are not willing to pay the fares; This means there is more supply then there is demand; This leads to "clutching at straws" behaviour from taxi drivers, such as refusing short trips in the hope of catching that one customer who does want a full ride to the airport; This leads to more disgruntled local customers, who will seek out other means of transport; Rinse, repeat. This is a self-reinforcing loop that only gets worse. As the writer of the cited article rightfully says, the government needs to correct its previous errors of 1985 and press the reset button on the taxi system.

I see there are a couple reasons: 1. Majority of Singaporean is rich enough to afford taxi as their daily transportation. While majority of Hong Kong people cannot. 2. Total cost of owning a taxi (ie. the car itself PLUS the taxi license) is so high in HK ($MM), so majority of the cars are running on the road 7/24 daily so to get a chance to make a profit out of the car's operating life. So despite the physical count on cars, you better work out a utility factor in each place for a valid comparison.

As of 2009, Hong Kong has 2050km of road while Singapore has 3356km of road. Therefore, per kilometre of road, Singapore has 8.64 taxis while Hong Kong has 8.78. This suggests that the pick-up rate is higher and faster in Hong Kong than in Singapore. Also, consider that Singapore's road (5km/square km) is denser than Hong Kong (~2.5km/square km). This meant that there would be several stretches of km of roads that the taxis in Hong Kong will not ply in search of customers. Furthermore, Singapore's taxis face other policies. For example, the largest taxi operator in Singapore asks that all their taxis to temporary stop operating during rain (which occurs extremely frequently). We also have to consider that Singapore's public transport system is not only cheaper but also much more extensive then Hong Kong's. In Singapore, there are more than 4600 bus stops (less, 37 bus terminals/interchange,  97 MRT stations & 34 LRT stations. It is also noteworthy that the average bus/mrt fare in Singapore is half that of Hong Kong's. Last but not least, there are simply more car ownship in Singapore compared to Hong Kong too!

The reason is that Hong Kong taxi drivers will pick up and drop off passengers virtually anywhere, even in the middle of an intersection in the case of a traffic jam, whereas Singapore is much more strict in its enforcement of traffic rules and designated taxi stops. Hong Kong has designated taxi stops, but they are only heeded in certain areas of the city which the taxi drivers know are closely monitored bu the police, particularly Central through Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island. It is also the case that taxi drivers drive longer hours and will even lease out their taxi to other drivers when they are not using it, like when they are sleeping. Another reason is that Hong Kong taxi drivers are more proactive in getting customers, you will often see the driver with at least three smartphones on the dashboard that are used to communicate with customers, other drivers and for GPS. I have seen as many as fifteen phones on the dash of one taxi.

1. Hong Kong has the cheapest taxis in the world 2. There are more people in Hong Kong than in Singapore, and they are more densely packed 3. HKG, and the places people go to in HKG are closer together than they are in Singapore 4. It makes no difference, given the amount of supply and volume of ridership, for a driver to take a HK$120 fare or a $HK14 fare.

I do not live in Hong Kong or work in the Taxi industry, but I believe the country's fare pricing system is the result of taxi drivers wanting to maximize earnings for a 12 hours working day. Therefore instead of picking up random customers, they would rather take lesser trips and increase earnings per trip. Extra charges like call bookings, peak hours, tourist destinations (MBS, airport) are circumstances where these drivers could earn more, and in most cases, you can get a taxi easily too. And you might even be surprised that the black market for taxi does exist in this so-called developed country. Try getting a cab at Orchard Towers during the wee period, and you'll get the answer.

All of the reasons given by the previous answers, and also that on rainy days, taxi drivers in Singapore hide, because if they get into an accident, they have to pay on their own (or something like that). So, the reason for not plying the roads is due to some sort of payment disincentive when it is raining.