Hong Kong taxi industry calls off planned strike involving 1,000 drivers after government promises to crack down on illegal ride-hailing services
- In a last-ditch effort to defuse the situation, government pledges to amend the law to stiffen punishments against those providing illegal ride-hailing services
- Wong Yu-ting of the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association later announces that the strike has been called off because of government’s offer to clamp down on illegal rides
Leaders of Hong Kong’s taxi trade have called off a 1,000-driver strike planned for Wednesday after the government promised to crack down on illegal ride-hailing services and increase jail terms for offenders.
The turnaround on Tuesday evening followed the government issuing a statement in a last-ditch effort to defuse the situation, vowing to amend the law to toughen punishments against those providing illegal ride-hailing services. Taxi trade representatives and transport officials met in the morning to discuss industry grievances.
“The government representatives clearly stated in their meeting that the government would crack down on those providing illegal ride-hailing services,” a spokesman said in the statement.
“The government will table law amendments to further raise the relevant jail term in a bid to enhance its deterrent effect.”
He added: “The government will review the existing law … and also study how to regulate the ride-hailing platforms to better crack down on illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward.”
The spokesman called on the taxi industry to act in the best interests of the public to resolve their issues in a practical manner.