Hong Kong premium taxi scheme may grow, draft of ride-hailing laws set for July: minister
- Transport chief Lam Sai-hung vows to seek taxi industry input on new regulatory proposal for platforms such as Uber
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung offered the assurance to the sector on a radio show on Saturday after a caller demanded a total ban on Uber as the “unfair” competition was hurting taxi owners and drivers.
“Online ride-hailing must not be made legal … [They] have made us miserable. Some people bought a licence for HK$7 million [US$2.17 million], and now it’s worth HK$3 million,” said the caller, a taxi licence holder who only identified himself by the surname Liu.
“Whether we’re taxi owners or drivers, we really don’t have enough business to make money. Is it really fair for [Uber drivers] to just buy a private car and do the same thing we do?”
It is illegal for drivers of private vehicles to accept paid customers without a hire-car permit, the number of which is subject to a cap of 1,500.
Ride-hailing platforms such as Uber are not regulated in Hong Kong.
But authorities would seek to change that through proposed regulation to be unveiled next month, the transport minister said.
