3 out of 4 Hongkongers support legalising online ride-hailing services: poll
- Survey by New Century Forum also finds about 45 per cent of respondents rate taxi services as either ‘very unsatisfactory’ or ‘not very satisfactory’
Three out of four Hong Kong residents support legalising online ride-hailing services, saying it would increase competition for taxis and lead to improvements in service, according to a survey.
The poll results released on Sunday also showed about 45 per cent of 820 respondents rated taxi services as either “very unsatisfactory” or “not very satisfactory”. The survey, conducted by the New Century Forum political group, conducted phone interviews between June 4 and 13, asking people for their views on taxi services and the regulation of e-hailing as a new taxi business model.
It found 73.5 per cent of respondents supported a licensing system to regulate online ride-hailing, while only 14.5 per cent opposed the idea.
Almost 76 per cent “very much agreed” that legalising online booking for Uber and similar companies would encourage competition and thus improve overall taxi or tailor-made point-to-point ride services. Only 14.3 per cent disagreed.
Nearly all, or 95.6 per cent, of those who had tried online ride-hailing in the past year were satisfied with the service.
Although Uber has been in the city for roughly nine years, ride-hailing services are illegal without a hire-car permit.