Tam shared a video featuring one such operation on Saturday in which a passenger asked a driver to stop his Tesla at the roadside near the Education University campus in Tai Po.

“I am an ordinary citizen. I suspect that you are illegally carrying passengers for reward. I have called police. Please park here,” the man said.

Police later confirmed they received a report at about 4.30pm on Saturday and had stopped five private cars suspected to be involved near the university.

A spokesman said the force had handed it over to Traffic New Territories North headquarters for following up on, and that no arrest had been made so far.

Tam, a taxi owner, said he has been supporting the action by offering advice after being approached by a group of taxi owners and drivers who “had accumulated grievances” and decided to take matters into their own hands.

“They felt there was bias in law enforcement by police, who have applied full strength to target taxis, but don’t seem to have the strength to crack down on unlawful car hires,” he said.

Although Uber has been in the city for nine years, many drivers are believed to be operating without a private hire car permit, which is subject to a cap of 1,500.

“What we and the [Uber drivers] are doing are two different things. We are regulated and must charge by the meter. This business environment is very unfair and unreasonable for us to compete in,” he said.

But public opinion may not be on his side.

“We should just report to police whenever we see any taxi illegal parking,” said a post on the Reddit-like LIHKG, which received more than 1,500 upvotes as of Saturday afternoon.

Some internet users also called for tactics to inconvenience taxi operations including by, for example, demanding cabbies provide the exact change for the fare.

Facebook user Kate Ying posted a screengrab that appeared to show a traffic offence report to police made at 4am on Saturday.

In a dashboard video uploaded to the same post, a taxi was seen running a red light at the intersection of Arbuthnot Road and Caine Road in Central.

Tam revealed he was targeted with threats on social media, including warnings that roadside parking of his taxis would be reported and his personal information would be shared publicly, after being identified as an organiser.

“No matter how public opinion criticises our trade or whatever, we are on the side of the law. Why should I be bullied online?” Tam said.

Ng Kwan-sing, vice-chairman of Hong Kong Taxi Council, said the government should pay attention to the sentiments reflected by the operation mounted by “a small minority” in the trade, although he added he “would not encourage such behaviour” out of concerns over safety and potential disputes.

“Our view is that we all hope that the government will announce the regulatory proposal for ride-hailing services as soon as possible. We all hope things will get better,” Ng said.

The government plans to release a regulatory proposal for ride-hailing platforms in the middle of the year, but it is unclear whether it will ease restrictions for private cars to accept hires.

Ng and Tam also supported government initiatives to improve taxi services, including the introduction of a demerit point system in September to stamp out bad behaviour by drivers, as well as the creation of premium fleets across the city.

The taxi trade, which has been vocal about what it called lax enforcement in cracking down on Uber drivers, has in recent years been also marred by complaints of bad service and overcharging.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung urged the taxi industry to “live up to expectations” and seize opportunities brought by the new premium fleet initiative, noting that rogue practices of “a handful of black sheep” had led to “unpleasant experiences” for passengers.

Under the scheme, operators must accept electronic payments and be able to effectively handle customer complaints. A premium fleet can also charge extra for booking and other services.

“Through such managed fleets, we hope to improve taxi services and thereby bring about a cultural change in the entire taxi industry,” Lam said.

“Such changes are inevitable because if things carry on like this … the public will lose confidence in taxis.”

Lam also argued that an increase of HK$2 (26 US cents) in taxi flag-fall rates took into account a drop in earnings among drivers from pre-Covid levels, which he said would not be good for the long-term development of the industry.

Transport Department figures showed there were 35 cases of vehicle seizures and licence suspensions over illegal ride-hailing services in 2022, compared with the 91 recorded in 2021 and 44 in 2020.