Ride-hailing: The committee has received more than 1,000 public submissions—about 70% believe the 10,000 quota is insufficient, calling for raising the limit and even removing it

The Legislative Council’s Subcommittee on Subsidiary Legislation Relating to Ride-Hailing convened a working group last month, inviting submissions from all sectors by June 15 on the relevant legislation. Based on our newspaper’s count of about 1,120 public submissions, around 70% believe that 10,000 ride-hailing vehicle licences are insufficient, and suggest raising the cap or even removing it. The authorities reiterated that the 10,000 quota is prudent and sound, and will review in due course whether the number needs adjusting.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau submitted a document to the Legislative Council yesterday (June 30), stating that the committee received 1,221 submissions in total, including 25 from groups such as transport organisations; ride-hailing platforms Uber and Amap; and taxi-related groups such as the Hong Kong Taxi Council and the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association. The remaining submissions were submitted by the public. Excluding dozens of documents limited for members’ reference only, our newspaper’s tally shows that among the roughly 1,120 submissions, at least 763 people—nearly 70%—believe that issuing 10,000 ride-hailing vehicle licences is insufficient, or oppose imposing a limit on the number of licences to be issued.

Some residents described issuing 10,000 licences as “unrealistic,” worrying that it would increase waiting times and affect residents’ and tourists’ travel experience; members of the public suggested increasing the cap to between 15,000 and 50,000. Others said the 10,000 quota is overly conservative and recommended having no cap, allowing the market to adjust freely. There were also views that issuing 10,000 licences would be too many and would have an excessively large impact on the taxi industry, and they suggested issuing only 2,000. Some also proposed that ride-hailing vehicle licences should be prioritised for applications by serving taxi drivers.

Uber reiterated that the cap of 10,000 licences is lower than public travel demand, urging the government to re-examine or dynamically adjust the cap before the regulations are fully implemented. Didi Chuxing supports starting with 10,000 licences, and recommends that the government continue to take into account changes in market supply and demand, waiting times, and other factors, and review how the system operates in light of actual circumstances.

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

Regarding views that the cap of 10,000 licences is insufficient to cope with demand for ride-hailing services, the Transport and Logistics Bureau said in response that the government has fully listened to opinions from all sectors of society, and has comprehensively considered data on the demand for point-to-point services. It believes that the current quota is a prudent, sound and appropriate approach, which will help the regulatory framework for ride-hailing services land smoothly. In future, the government will refer to the data submitted by platforms, carry out a thorough dynamic assessment, and promptly review whether there is a need to adjust the number of ride-hailing vehicles.

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