Ride-hailing | Committee received over a thousand public submissions, about 70% think 10k quotas are insufficient, advocating for increasing or even removing the limit.

The Subcommittee on Subsidiary Legislation Related to the Regulation of Ride-Hailing Services of the Legislative Council invited submissions from various sectors on the relevant legislation by July 15, with a meeting scheduled for June 8. According to our newspaper's tally of approximately 1,120 public submissions, about 70% considered 10k ride-hailing licenses insufficient and suggested raising or even removing the cap. The authorities reiterated that the quota of 10k is prudent and stable, and will review whether adjustments are needed in due course.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau submitted a document to the Legislative Council yesterday (June 30), stating that the subcommittee received a total of 1,221 submissions, of which 25 were from organizations, including transport groups; ride-hailing platforms Uber and Gaode Taxi; taxi groups such as the Hong Kong Taxi Industry Council and the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association. The remaining submissions were from the public. After excluding several dozen documents restricted to committee members, our newspaper's tally of approximately 1,120 submissions found that at least 763 people, or nearly 70%, believed that issuing 10k ride-hailing licenses was insufficient, or opposed setting a cap on the number of licenses.

Some citizens described the issuance of 10k licenses as "out of touch with reality," fearing increased waiting times that would affect the travel experience of both residents and tourists. They proposed increasing the quota to between 15k and 50k. Others considered the 10k quota too conservative and suggested removing the cap altogether, allowing the market to self-regulate. Some opinions argued that 10k licenses were too many and would overly impact the taxi industry, suggesting only 2,000 be issued. It was also proposed that ride-hailing licenses should be prioritized for current taxi drivers.

Uber reiterated that the cap of 10k licenses falls short of public travel demand and urged the government to review or dynamically adjust the cap before the full implementation of the regulations. DiDi Chuxing supported starting with 10k licenses and suggested the government continuously monitor market supply and demand changes and waiting times, reviewing the system's operation based on actual circumstances.

Bureau Says It Has Fully Listened to Opinions and Will Review Based on Data in Future

In response to opinions that the cap of 10k licenses is insufficient to meet the demand for ride-hailing services, the Transport and Logistics Bureau stated that the government has fully listened to opinions from all sectors and comprehensively considered data on point-to-point service demand. It believes the current quota is a prudent, stable, and appropriate approach to ensure the smooth implementation of the ride-hailing service regulatory system. The government will refer to data submitted by platforms in the future to conduct comprehensive dynamic assessments and timely review whether adjustments to the number of ride-hailing vehicles are needed.

The Bureau also noted that ride-hailing vehicles must complete a specified number of trips within a designated period for their vehicle permits to be renewed. However, there will be no restrictions on the online time of ride-hailing drivers, preserving greater flexibility for drivers to provide services and adjust capacity based on their own operational needs and market demand.