Lawmakers have called on the Hong Kong government to offer more permits for online ride-hailing services like Uber, citing a need to ensure competition in the industry.
Lawmakers on the legislature’s transport panel met on Friday to discuss the issue after the Transport and Logistics Bureau on Monday presented a document to the legislature outlining the government’s plans to regulate ride-hailing services in the city.
While Hong Kong law requires vehicles offering ride-hailing services to have a hire car permit, services such as Uber have continued to operate in the city.
See also: Hong Kong may pave way for Uber as gov’t looks to regulate ride-hailing services
The bureau proposed a licensing system requiring service providers to purchase insurance for vehicles and passengers, and to ensure that drivers had completed health checks and background screenings.
Transport minister Lam Sai-hung said during Friday’s the meeting that the government would “act in the interest of the public,” keeping an open mind on improving both taxis and online ride-hailing services.
It was also important, Lam said, to protect the healthy and sustainable development of the transport industry as a whole, “rather than just taking into account the interests of individual trades and industries.”
“Therefore, we do not subscribe to the perception that the Government is biased in favour of the taxi trade,” he said.
Supply and demand
The Transport Department’s submission to the legislature said it would commence a survey on demand for ride-hailing services later in the year. It will conduct a review six months into the study and expects the survey to be completed in one year.
But for Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien, who was chair of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, the barrier to entry for ride-hailing permits was too high. Tien on Friday called it “mission impossible.”
He recommended that the government increase the number of permits to between 4,000 and 5,000, up from the current 1,500, and to have regular taxis sign up on online ride-hailing platforms.
More than 216,000 drivers had registered on Uber and Uber Taxi by 2021, according to a statement issued that year.
Tien also suggested requiring both taxis and hire cars to have cameras installed inside them, and for the government to set up a centralised complaint mechanism. Lam said a feasibility study was underway, while a consultation was expected to be conducted by the end of the year.
Election Committee lawmaker Chan Pui-leung said ride-hailing services should not be kept on a tight leash. “We need to uphold one principle – regulation is meant to promote healthy growth of the industry.”
Lawmaker and convener of the Executive Council Regina Ip, meanwhile, said demand could only be accurately gauged if the industry was “opened up.”
Ip also said the government should require drivers for ride-hailing services to be able to speak English. “In any case, they need to know English. What happens if you’re doing business with tourists? That really affects Hong Kong’s image.”
Lawmaker Gary Zhang was among several lawmakers on Friday who said the one-year duration of the survey was too long.
“Ride-hailing platforms exist illegally, but the fact is that they… have existed for many years. They are not regulated, so they are allowed to develop freely, but public transport operations have not been greatly affected,” Zhang said. “I believe that as long as we can regulate the platforms and put in more restrictions, the situation can only improve.”
Uber said in a statement that while it welcomed the government’s direction to regulate ride-hailing platforms, any move to cap the number of ride-sharing licenses would “deal a blow” to drivers who rely on the platform.
“As the government prepares for a further study later this year, we urge the government to take into account the popularity of ridesharing, and the innovation that Uber has brought to the city,” the statement said.
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