Ride-hailing: the committee receives more than 1,000 public submissions; about 70% believe the 10,000 quota is insufficient and call for raising it—or even removing the limit.

The Legislative Council’s Subcommittee on Subsidiary Legislation Relating to the Regulation of Ride-hailing Services invited submissions from all sectors on the relevant legislation by June 15 last month. Our newspaper has compiled statistics showing that among the approximately 1,120 public submissions, about 70% believed that 10,000 ride-hailing licences are insufficient, and suggested raising the cap or even removing it. The authorities reiterated that the allocation of 10,000 is prudent and sound, and will review in due course whether the number needs adjustment.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau submitted a document 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 Didi; and taxi groups including the Hong Kong Taxi Council and the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association. The remaining submissions were made by the public. Excluding dozens of documents that were only for committee members’ reference, our newspaper’s statistics show that among the approximately 1,120 submissions, at least 763 people—nearly 70%—believed that issuing 10,000 ride-hailing licences is insufficient, or opposed setting a cap on the number of licences.

Some residents described that issuing 10,000 licences “is detached from reality,” worrying it would increase waiting times and affect residents’ and tourists’ travel experience; members of the public suggested increasing the limit to anywhere from 15,000 to 50,000. Others said the quota of 10,000 is overly conservative and suggested no cap, allowing the market to adjust freely. There were also views that issuing 10,000 licences is too many and would have too great an impact on the taxi industry, and suggested issuing only 2,000; it was also suggested that ride-hailing licences should be given priority for applications by serving taxi drivers.

Uber reiterated that the 10,000-licence cap is lower than citizens’ travel demand, urging the government to re-examine or dynamically adjust the cap before the provisions are fully implemented. Didi Chuxing supports starting with 10,000 licences, and suggested that the government should continue to refer to changes in market supply and demand, waiting times, and other factors, and review how the system operates according to actual circumstances.

The authorities say they have fully listened to views and will review again based on data in future

In response to views that the 10,000-licence cap is insufficient to meet demand for ride-hailing services, the Transport and Logistics Bureau said the government has fully listened to views from all sectors, and has comprehensively considered data on point-to-point service demand. It believes the current quota is a prudent, sound, and appropriate approach, to ensure the ride-hailing service regulatory framework is implemented smoothly. In future, the government will refer to data submitted by platforms to conduct an overall dynamic assessment, and review in a timely manner whether the number of ride-hailing vehicles needs to be adjusted.

The authorities also said ride-hailing services must complete the specified number of trips within a designated period; only then will vehicle licences be renewed. However, they will not restrict the number of hours that ride-hailing drivers can go online, retaining greater flexibility, so ride-hailing drivers can provide services and adjust capacity according to their own operational needs and market demand.