Old HK taxi trick: extra cash just to get a cab when demand is high
By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law
I’m a fan of the Uber product. The issue is how it is positioning itself. Reliability and predictable outcomes matter for credibility.
As I understand it (Uber can tell me if I’m wrong), the nearest driver is offered the ride first, then the next, and so on. We know Uber can leave you waiting long after it has promised a pickup in a few minutes.
Drivers who are not interested must be ignoring the requests, and the UBER app keeps scrolling until someone accepts… or until nobody does!
Pre-tipping appears to be the chosen solution. Give the drivers a $ reason (in their pocket) to accept a ride rather than ignore it.
I prefer free markets to regulation; I have said that before. But this shifts the product promise away from “nearest driver” to “nearest driver who sees enough extra money to bother.” Suddenly getting an UBER fast becomes more expensive and perhaps slower.
Hong Kong’s taxi system remains dysfunctional; it carves the small city into zones, and there are many old and poorly maintained vehicles, often matched with old (or bad) drivers who tend to rent the cheapest cars by the day.
But does Uber send a confusing signal by moving to the age-old price-inflating and availability-cutting practices of the taxi industry?
The company needs to be careful about how it positions itself with the Hong Kong government and the public, including its fans! Odd comments and questionable framing have often not seemed to serve them that well in the past.
As to whether pre-tipping now makes this service more reliable, or just quietly changes it into a more expensive and slower option, not even provided by the nearest driver, remains to be seen.
#Uber #RideHailing #HongKong #FreeMarket #Taxi #GigEconomy #ConsumerChoice #Regulation
Old HK taxi trick: extra cash just to get a cab when demand is high By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I’m a fan of the Uber product. The issue...Read More
Is location really everything in Hong Kong? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Staunton’s on the Central HK to Mid Levels escalator spent decades proving that, so it seemed. Iconic...Read More
Construction firms in Hong Kong are paying far greater attention to safety practices By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Something unexpected in a hole? Or someone down there waiting for...Read More
Very smart Hong Kong retail buy for US$ 2.7 million or not? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I have been saying we have reached an inflection point in Hong...Read More
The Boston Steakhouse in Wan Chai is a survivor! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Some sights in Hong Kong slip away, and you forget about them. Given the ever-changing...Read More
The terror of AI is that it can sound absolutely certain while inventing something that never existed By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I don’t usually write about client challenges,...Read More
Were Hong Kong’s dog friendly F&B guidelines written by dogs? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Were Hong Kong’s dog-friendly F&B guidelines written by dogs? Because if you read them,...Read More
I used to live here, in the same building that is now home to the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong. By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I used...Read More
Ride hailing, supply and demand, Uber and Hong Kong, something is still very wrong By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law We all know the absurdity of Hong Kong’s taxi situation:...Read More
Hong Kong is coming back as a concert stop as Kraftwerk just showed! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Hong Kong is coming back as a concert stop as Kraftwerk...Read More
What is an amazing .com domain name worth? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law https://hklawyer-ajhalkes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Diyi-Number-plate-in-Hong-Kong.mp4 What is an amazing .com domain name worth? The good news is that, perhaps, if...Read More
Construction is under way at Dragon-i that was part of our lives for years! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Construction is underway at Dragon-i that was part of our...Read More
The government has imposed standards on protective netting around occupied residential properties By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law The government has imposed standards on protective netting around occupied residential properties,...Read More
When water is basically free and all F&B outlets have a filtration system – why charge? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law When water is basically free, and all F&B...Read More
Suffering long term COVID effects is very real for some businesses By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Suffering long-term COVID effects is very real for some businesses. Even though the...Read More
Hire the right influencers, create the right buzz, now you can sell almost anything! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I wrote about this place opening on a site that,...Read More