Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said regulating online car hailing platforms and reforming the taxi industry must go hand in hand, calling for the two sectors to complement one another in pursuit of coexistence.

She said on Saturday that the government is committed to prioritising public interests while addressing concerns from all stakeholders.

Her remarks followed a series of meetings between the authorities and industry representatives.

In one of the meetings on Thursday, officials had a two-hour discussion with the taxi trade, during which they reaffirmed their resolve to combat illegal ride-hailing operations.

The bureau then met with online car-hailing platform operators the following day to stress the importance of strict adherence to local regulations.

Chan said authorities have been focused on improving personalised point-to-point services.

"We have been helping the taxi sector to improve their service quality by creating five taxi fleets. The feature of these fleets is basically to provide e-hailing services and they will also provide new electric cars to enhance their services," she said.

"We are actively pursuing our internal review and survey on passenger demand on the provision of e-hailing services and we are actively doing that.

"In this process, we have been arranging and lining up regular sessions with relevant stakeholders, including in particular the taxi trade representatives as well as existing e-hailing platform operators and those potential candidates who are interested to operate in Hong Kong."

The transport chief stressed that the government will regularly meet with industry representatives to gather updated views and suggestions with the aim of finalising an internal study and survey on the demands and requirements needed to regulate e-hailing platform services in the future.

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Last updated: 2025-05-17 HKT 12:59