Uber, Hong Kong taxis ‘not enemies’ and can coexist without adverse effects, platform’s boss says

Uber Hong Kong general manager Estyn Chung says ride-hailing platform and taxi industry can coexist in a healthy transport ecosystem

Reading Time:2 minutes

Uber entered the Hong Kong market 10 years ago but the service is deemed illegal. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 7:25pm, 24 Jun 2024Updated: 7:47pm, 24 Jun 2024

Examples elsewhere in Asia show online ride-hailing services can coexist with taxis without adversely affecting the trade, Uber’s boss in Hong Kong has said ahead of the release of a preliminary government review into such platforms.

Uber Hong Kong general manager Estyn Chung revealed on Monday that authorities had not approached his company, which had filed submissions with the Transport and Logistics Bureau, over their study, expected next month.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of US-based Uber’s entry into the Hong Kong market.

Taxi drivers’ years-long frustration with competition from the popular ride-hailing platform recently returned to the spotlight.

In a bid to pressure authorities into cracking down on illegal Uber services, cabbies carried out “undercover operations” by posing as passengers and asking their drivers to stop at places where they had called police.

Estyn Chung says more than 100,000 drivers had earned an income through the platform in the past decade. Photo: Oscar Liu

Chung stressed on Monday that Uber and the taxi industry in Hong Kong were not enemies and could coexist in a healthy transport ecosystem such as that in Singapore.