Hong Kong’s premium taxi program may expand – draft passenger transport regulations due in July: Minister

Transport and Logistics Secretary Lam Sai-hung reassured the industry in a Saturday radio broadcast after a caller demanded a total ban on Uber because “unfair” competition is hurting taxi owners and drivers.

“Online passenger transportation cannot be legal… (They) have made us miserable. Some bought the license for HKD7 million ($2.17 million), and now it’s worth HKD3 million,” said the caller, a taxi license holder who identified himself only by his surname Liu.

“Whether we are taxi owners or drivers, we really don’t have enough business to make money. Is it really fair that (Uber drivers) just buy a private car and do the same thing we do?”

Drivers of private vehicles are not allowed to accept paying customers without a car rental permit, and the number of such customers does not exceed 1,500.

Passenger transport platforms such as Uber are not regulated in Hong Kong.

However, authorities will try to change this through a proposed regulation that will be presented next month, the transport minister said.

“We heard a lot of different opinions, some in favor of expanding online passenger transport services, others against it,” he said in response to a caller.

“In July, we will present a regulation (proposal) on online passenger transport services to the Legislative Council… We will continue to communicate with the industry and relevant stakeholders on this matter and listen to everyone’s views.”

He said authorities had referred to regulatory systems in other jurisdictions and were “almost finished” developing the plan.

Lam suggested that passenger transport operators may need licenses, but did not specify whether they must only allow drivers with permits onto platforms.

He reiterated that the taxi industry needs to stabilize and do better, noting that viral clips and media reports have shown that the service quality of some drivers remains disappointing

One attempt to improve industry standards has been to introduce up to five fleets of premium taxis, which will be subject to additional regulatory requirements but will be able to charge higher rates.

Lam said premium fleet operators would also have an advantage over individual taxi owners in terms of complaint handling as they would be required to have a dedicated mechanism for providing such feedback.

The Department of Transportation received 15 applications, but Lam said five fleets would be a good place to start.

“Of course, if these fleets perform well in the future, I would not rule out adding additional fleets. We will also have to monitor the industry’s response,” he said.

Transport authorities also said that at the end of May, about 400 imported drivers were behind the wheel of minibuses and coaches, and about 200 others had come to the city and received training under a program aimed at easing labor shortages.