Hong Kong lawmakers say more permits needed for ride-hailing services such as Uber
- Existing hire-car permit quota of 1,500 should be raised as high as 5,000 or even new type or licence issued, legislators say
Hong Kong lawmakers have urged transport authorities to significantly increase the number of permits for ride-hailing services such as Uber, with observers calling on the government to speed up policy formulation to meet public demand.
Their remarks were made on Tuesday, a day after the Transport and Logistics Bureau put forward a long-awaited proposal for regulating ride-hailing services.
The bureau said it planned to impose stricter penalties to curb illegal ride-hailing services, and would take a year to study commuters’ needs and release further details about licensing regulations for such services.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun said that the regulation of ride-hailing services must include raising the number of permits for private vehicles eligible to apply for legal point-to-point services.
He added the supply should be 4,000 to 5,000 in the initial stage and the increase could be implemented through the existing hire-car permit quota, currently capped at 1,500, or by issuing a new type of licence.
“The current application requirement for a hire-car permit requires applicants to justify the point-to-point transport service and is not enough to meet society’s needs. How can they prove that?” Tien told a radio programme on Tuesday.