The Hong Kong government has proposed requiring drivers for ride-hailing apps to take tests to obtain a permit under a long-awaited framework aimed at regulating Uber and other platforms.
According to the Transport and Logistics Bureau’s proposal published on Thursday, permit holders must be at least 21 years old, have held a driving licence for at least one year, and have had no serious traffic convictions in the past five years.
They must also complete a course and pass a “designated test,” the bureau wrote.
The suggestions are part of the government’s proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Ordinance, an attempt to enact rules for ride-hailing services in response to years-long calls from the taxi industry.
Ride-hailing apps operate in a grey area in the city, which requires vehicles offering hailing services to have a hire car permit. Ride-hailing cars are not subject to the rules for taxis, such as vehicle checks and third-party insurance.
The taxi sector sees ride-hailing services as competition and has called for them to be regulated.
Under the proposal, ride-hailing drivers’ permits will be valid for five years, after which they will have to be renewed subject to “certain requirements” such as maintaining a good driving record.
The drivers will only be allowed to drive their own vehicles, which must also have a permit.
“We propose that only private cars registered in the name of an individual may apply for vehicle permits, and such vehicles can only be driven by their registered owners when providing ride-hailing passenger transport services in the future,” the bureau wrote.
Speaking on an RTHK radio show on Friday, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said the rule would prevent illegal workers – those without the right to work in Hong Kong – from driving ride-hailing cars.
“By tying car ownership with the drivers, the [ride-hailing] platforms would be able to better monitor and therefore effectively target the problem of illegal workers,” Chan said in Cantonese.
Demand for ride-hailing services
In the proposal, the bureau said the regulation was aimed at safeguarding passengers’ interests and providing “diverse travel options.”
It acknowledged that advancements in technology had led to the flourishing of ride-hailing apps, with taxi drivers also becoming “increasingly acquainted” with them.
Citing a Transport Department survey, the bureau said that the current daily patronage for point-to-point transport services was around 880,000 passengers, with ride-hailing vehicles accounting for 190,000 – or almost one in four.
“This indicates that there is a certain level of demand for ride-hailing vehicles in society,” the bureau wrote, adding that it can be harder to hail a taxi during rush hour.
Vehicles must also display a specified mark to indicate that they are ride-hailing cars, and the cars must be no more than 12 years old. Previously, the bureau had suggested the limit be set at seven years.
Chan said on the radio show that the change was in response to “listening to different voices.”
Setting the rule too strictly could shut out interested drivers, the transport chief said, and potentially affect the supply of ride-hailing services.
“We believe this arrangement can uphold our vehicle safety standards while introducing a degree of flexibility,” she said.
Ahead of the release of the bureau’s proposal, the taxi industry had urged authorities to limit the number of ride-hailing vehicles.
The proposal cited different policies in different cities. Some, like London and Canberra, do not set limits, whereas Singapore, Shanghai, and New York City have either placed limits or stopped issuing new licenses.
The government considers it “necessary to impose overall control on the number of ride-hailing vehicles,” but it would not announce the figure now, the bureau wrote.
Authorities will focus on “building consensus and establishing the regulatory framework” first, and address detailed arrangements in the first half of next year, according to the paper.
Lawmakers will discuss the proposals at a meeting on Wednesday.
