A Hong Kong taxi union has proposed that ride-hailing services be allowed to operate only during peak hours, as it welcomed a legislative proposal to regulate app-based booking platforms like Uber.
The Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association spokesperson Peter Yung told reporters on Wednesday that the union hoped it could be involved in the legislative process regulating online ride-hailing services.
The union is of the view that traditional taxis should be the core providers of point-to-point services, while ride-hailing services should play merely an ”auxiliary” role, being allowed to operate only during peak hours, Yung said.
In an earlier letter to transport chief Mable Chan, the association proposed allowing online ride-hails to operate only from 7am to 10am and 5pm to 8pm, Yung told reporters.
Proposed regulations
Last week, the Transport and Logistics Bureau submitted its proposal to the Legislative Council outlining a framework for regulating online ride-hailing services in Hong Kong.
The government plans to cap the number of licences but has not given details of the specific limit.
According to the proposal submitted to the Legislative Council’s Panel on Transport, the government suggests issuing licences to ride-hailing platforms that would be valid for five years and renewable based on the platform’s service performance.
Chan had earlier said the authorities would take into consideration the public’s convenience, the orderly development of the industry, the public transport system, and road-carrying capacity when deciding the number of licences.
Asked how many licences the association believed should be in circulation, Yung did not state a number, only that it would depend on the government’s data.
See also: What to know about Hong Kong taxi licences, and why their value is plummeting amid rise of Uber
Yung also said that the association had proposed issuing online ride-hailing licences through public tender, as is done for taxis. But the union is against allowing the licence to change hands, lest it become an investment tool.
Ride-hailing services should “co-exist” with the taxi trade to provide transport services, Chief Executive John Lee said.
Ride-hailing apps currently operate in a grey area in the city, which requires vehicles offering hailing services to have a hire car permit. Private vehicle owners who provide hailing services on online platforms without a permit could face up to six months in jail and a HK$10,000 fine for the first offence.
The popularity of services such as Uber has risen amid long-standing dissatisfaction with taxi service standards, while the cab industry is calling for tougher action against Uber and the like, saying that its livelihood has been adversely affected by ride-hailing services.
