Ride-hailing | Commission receives over a thousand public submissions, about 70% think the 10k quota is insufficient, suggesting raising or even removing the limit.

The Subcommittee on Subsidiary Legislation Regulating Ride-Hailing Services under the Legislative Council invited various sectors last month to submit written comments on the relevant legislation before June 15. According to this newspaper’s statistics, among about 1,120 public submissions received, around 70% believed that 10,000 ride-hailing licences are insufficient, and recommended raising the cap or even removing it. The authorities reiterated that the quota of 10,000 is prudent and appropriate, and that they will review whether the number needs to be adjusted in due course.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau submitted documents to the Legislative Council yesterday (June 30), stating that the committee received a total of 1,221 submissions, including 25 from organisations such as transport-related groups; ride-hailing platforms Uber and Gaode Dache; and taxi groups including the Hong Kong Taxi Industry Council and the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, etc. The remaining submissions were from the public. Excluding dozens of documents intended only for members’ reference, this newspaper’s statistics indicate that among about 1,120 submissions, at least 763 people—nearly 70%—believed that issuing 10,000 ride-hailing licences is insufficient, or opposed setting limits on the number of licences to be issued.

Some residents described issuing 10,000 licences as “out of touch with reality,” worrying that it would increase waiting times and affect residents’ and tourists’ travel experience; members of the public proposed raising the quota to between 15,000 and 50,000. Others believed that the quota of 10,000 is overly conservative and suggested not setting any cap, allowing the market to adjust freely. Some opinions, however, said that issuing 10,000 licences is too many and would have an excessive impact on the taxi industry, and recommended issuing only 2,000 licences; they also suggested that ride-hailing licences should be given priority to applications from incumbent taxi drivers.

Uber reiterated that the cap of 10,000 licences is lower than the public’s travel demand, urging the government to re-examine or dynamically adjust the cap before the legislation is comprehensively implemented. Didi Chuxing supports starting with 10,000 licences and suggests that the government continue to refer to changes in market supply and demand, waiting times, and so on, and review the operation of the system based on actual circumstances.

The authorities say they have fully heard views; they will review again based on data later

Regarding views that the cap of 10,000 licences is insufficient to meet demand for ride-hailing services, the Transport and Logistics Bureau responded that the government has fully listened to views from all sectors and has comprehensively considered data on point-to-point service demand. It believes that the current quota is a prudent, stable and appropriate approach, enabling the ride-hailing service regulatory framework to be implemented smoothly. The government will, in future, refer to the data submitted by platforms to conduct a comprehensive dynamic assessment, and review whether it is necessary to adjust the number of ride-hailing services in a timely manner.

The authorities also said that ride-hailing services must complete a specified number of trips within a specified period for the vehicle licences to be renewed, but they will not restrict the number of hours that ride-hailing drivers can go online. This preserves greater flexibility, allowing ride-hailing drivers to provide services and adjust capacity according to their own operating needs and market demand.