The Transport Department on Friday invited interested platform companies to apply for ride-hailing service licences, with a deadline of noon on October 30.

The move follows the passage of the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Services) Ordinance 2025 last October and the completion of related subsidiary legislation in mid-July. Most provisions of the new regulatory regime took effect on August 3.

A government spokesman said the new regime requires platforms, vehicles and drivers to obtain relevant licences and permits, offering the public more safe and compliant point-to-point transport options.

"To ensure that ride-hailing platforms have the operational capability to provide ride-hailing platform services, we will impose certain requirements in areas such as ride-hailing booking management technology, experience in operating ride-hailing platform services, proof of financial capability and capital investment," the spokesman said.

Applicants must be companies registered in Hong Kong with a permanent local office and executive personnel. They must demonstrate operational scale, including lawful operation in a city with a population comparable to that of Hong Kong of at least 7.5 million and a daily average of 100,000 or more ride-hailing orders across two cities.

Financial requirements include paid-up capital of no less than HK$50 million, bank deposits of at least HK$30 million and credit facilities of at least HK$30 million. Applicants must also submit audited financial reports for the past three years.

An assessment committee comprising representatives from the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Digital Policy Office and the Transport Department will evaluate applications and make recommendations to the Commissioner for Transport.

Licences will be valid for up to five years, with an annual fee of HK$1.2 million.

The Transport Department also said it is developing a ride-hailing vehicle data management system to monitor licensed platforms' operations in real time.


Edited by Aaron Tam