Representatives of the taxi sector have demanded that the Hong Kong government regulate online ride-hailing services, saying their livelihoods are at stake.
Taxi owners and drivers gathered outside the West Kowloon Government Offices on Friday morning, holding up signs in Chinese reading “Ride-hailing apps are bullies; taxi drivers are awaiting their doom.” They also submitted a petition to Chief Executive John Lee, demanding action.
Chow Kwok-keung, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, said that he understood that some people had negative experiences with taking taxis but the sector was working hard to improve.
“If the chief executive does not want to see further petitions or protests, [he] should urge officials to cooperate across departments and coordinate,” Chow said in Cantonese.
Hong Kong’s taxi sector has long called on the city to crack down on ride-hailing apps like Uber, which they say compete with them for business.
Ride-hailing apps operate in a grey area in the city, which requires vehicles offering hailing services to have a hire car permit. The government, however, has not outright criminalised ride sharing.
Authorities said last July that they would consider regulating ride-hailing platforms like Uber, for example by introducing a new licensing system, though no frameworks have yet been floated.
Falling income
Speaking outside the government offices on Friday, Chow said ride-hailing cars had led to around a 20 per cent drop in income for taxi drivers.
He added that over 75 per cent of taxi owners had fallen into debt due to the impact of ride-hailing services.
In Hong Kong, one must purchase a taxi licence in order to own a taxi. The value of licences – often seen as an investment tool – has plummeted in recent years, from around HK$5 million in 2020 to HK$2.6 million in May.
Meanwhile, the government has stepped up regulation of the taxi sector amid complaints about the city’s taxi services, including introducing a new demerit points system that punishes drivers for behaviour such as refusing hire and overcharging passengers.
It also rolled out taxi fleets operated by five companies, which are tasked with managing their taxis and providing higher-quality services.
“King of taxis” Cheng Hak-wo, the founder of Chung Shing Taxi Limited, one of the city’s largest taxi operators, told local media outlets that he wrote to Chief Executive John Lee earlier this week to urge him to crack down on ride-hailing apps.
The Transport Department said on Friday that it welcomed the views of taxi sector representatives and would arrange meetings with them.
The department added that the government would propose a framework for the regulation of ride-hailing services within this year.
