Isn't it time we got Hong Kong moving again with a modern ride-hailing solution, like Uber, if our taxi industry is stuck in the past?
By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law
From haggling with drivers and being ignored to enduring old vehicles, feeling unsafe and getting out mid-trip, the daily woes of Hong Kong taxis are all too familiar. Despite these issues, drivers (or is it the owners?) seem determined to block any effective competition that could disrupt the status quo.
From time to time you bump into an occasionally excellent driver who is polite and competent, possibly an owner-driver who has been in the field for decades, but it is rare and there appear to be very few young entrants; why would there be?
The industry appears to use a large-scale rental model with taxis as investment properties and drivers operating long hours, hopefully able to break even after rent and fuel costs to pocket perhaps $1000 a day?
The regulations are antiquated so you can’t travel from the new territories into the city (in a NT taxi) without changing at an inconvenient location; or get to the beaches of Lantau without similar complexity. Three zones of taxis is nonsensical now we can drive everywhere!
So along comes a clean, safe, curated ride-hailing solution but the government now suggests it will harden up the approach to penalties for unlicensed ride hailing activity.
The government must be aware the reason these services have been able to gain traction is an inadequate and inferior transport infrastructure when it comes to taxis.
We need to get Hong Kong moving again after years of sliding backwards: but supporting an antiquated monopoly trade that’s often inefficient seems illogical.
Uber and similar services are the future; if the taxi industry wants to survive, it will need to get a move on…
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