Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan on Wednesday said she believes the proposed regulatory regime for ride-hailing services will complement the taxi industry.

The government has proposed issuing up to 10,000 vehicle permits in the first phase.

Chan expects to invite interested platforms to file applications as soon as August this year, and they could start operating as soon as the end of November.

She stressed that she wants the regime to be rolled out gradually.

“As a start, we would like to take a prudent, careful approach to ensure that our proposed regulatory regime will be achieved and implemented in a safe, smooth and progressive manner,” Chan said.

She noted that Hong Kong’s situation is unique – about 90 percent of the residents opt for public transportation – but the government also values the public’s travel experience.

Chan believes that ride-hailing platforms could also include taxis to offer appointment services.

The current cap, she said, was proposed after balancing various considerations.

But Chan added the government would adjust the quota when necessary by closely monitoring the operational data from ride-hailing platforms.

“Once we issue licences for one or two or more platform operators in future, we will impose requirements for the operators to submit and share and store the relevant operational data, and to share it with the Transport Department,” she said.

“I believe that our mechanism and our review should be based on data and should take into account the various operating indicators.”


Edited by Tony Sabine