2.1 Format, Timing & Dual Pass Marks

Quick Answer: You have 45 minutes for both parts of the Hong Kong Taxi Written Test. Part A is 40 Taxi Operation questions (pass ≥34). Part B is 35 Road Users' Code questions (pass ≥30). Fail either part and you fail overall — there is no averaging across parts.

What the Dual-Part Structure Means

The Transport Department (TD) Taxi Written Test is not a single pool of 75 mixed questions scored as one percentage. It is two independent assessments delivered in one sitting. Part A tests taxi-specific law and operational knowledge from the official Taxi Operation materials. Part B tests general road-user knowledge from the Road Users' Code, in the same style used for private car, light goods vehicle (LGV), and motorcycle written tests.

Because each part has its own pass criterion, you must study both banks to a high standard. Strong performance on locations cannot "bail out" a weak regulations score inside Part A in the way a single blended percentage sometimes can — and nothing in Part A can rescue a fail on Part B.

Shared Clock: 45 Minutes for Everything

TD allows 45 minutes in total for both Part A and Part B. There is not a separate 20-minute block for locations and another block for the Road Users' Code. Once the test starts, the same countdown covers the full paper.

That is roughly 36 seconds per question if you attempt all 75 items evenly. In practice, Part A location and route items often need more map-thinking time, while many Part B rules questions can be answered faster if you know the Code cold. Plan a conscious pacing strategy before test day:

1. Move quickly through regulation items you know with certainty.
2. Flag or revisit location/route items that need a second look.
3. Leave a short buffer near the end to review unanswered questions.
4. Remember that unfinished items count as wrong for pass-mark purposes if they remain blank.

Part A — Taxi Operation (40 Questions)

Part A is the taxi-specific half of the paper. Its internal mix is fixed by TD's published guide:

Pass mark for Part A: answer 34 or more correctly. That means you may make no more than 6 mistakes in the entire 40-question block. Six mistakes is a thin margin once regulations, locations, and the single route item are all in play — especially because a single wrong location item burns one of those six slots.

Regulations questions draw on taxi legislation and operational duties: taximeter and receipts, stands and for-hire rules, fares and extras, passenger and baggage duties, Journey Recording Systems, offence-points regime, and related Cap. 374 framework rules covered later in this guide. Location questions expect recognition of major destinations and landmarks used in taxi work. The route item asks you to choose the most appropriate of three route options for a given journey context.

Part B — Road Users' Code (35 Questions)

Part B is the general driving-knowledge half:

Do not treat Part B as "easier" simply because it has three options instead of four. A 30/35 threshold is about 86% accuracy — stricter than many international learner theory pass marks. Candidates who only cram taxi regulations and ignore the Code often fail overall despite a strong Part A.

Overall Result Logic: Both Parts or Nothing

TD awards an overall PASS only when both parts meet their criteria:

There is no combined raw score that can override a part fail. Scoring 39/40 on Part A and 29/35 on Part B is still an overall fail. Scoring 33/40 and 35/35 is also an overall fail. Your revision plan must protect both thresholds.

Computerized Interface and Language Lock

The Taxi Written Test is computerized. You answer using a touch screen and/or mouse at the test terminal. After you choose your on-screen language, TD allows about five minutes to read the instructions. When that instruction window ends, the test auto-starts — do not assume invigilators will wait for you to finish reading casually.

Language cannot be changed after the test has started. Choose Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, or English carefully before the instruction countdown. If you are bilingual, pick the language in which you studied the official booklets and in which you process map names fastest under time pressure.

Why the Dual Threshold Changes How You Study

Many candidates prepare as if the paper were "get 70% overall." That mindset is wrong for this exam. A realistic target is:

• Part A practice: consistently 36–38+ / 40 so six mistakes remains a cushion, not the plan.
• Part B practice: consistently 32–34+ / 35 so five mistakes remains a cushion.
• Timed mixed mocks under a 45-minute total clock so location items do not cannibalize Part B time.

Memorize the structure table and both pass marks cold — they are themselves high-yield "exam logistics" facts that appear in official candidate materials and are easy marks in any logistics quiz, including the ones at the end of this section.