HK Taxis Still Attacking Popular Uber

When will the government finally decide on Uber in the city?

It is really quite amazing that the Hong Kong government STILL has not resolved the issue of having ride-hailing apps in the city ever since Uber entered the market in 2014.

How can it be that the so-called "world's international city" has made ride-hailing services like Uber illegal?

Residents prefer taking Uber over taxis

As a number of people take Uber, they like the service because the vehicles are clean, the drivers are courteous and get them from point A to point B without the smell of cigarettes, listening to taxi drivers' rants and uncomfortable seats. Oh and they have seatbelts that work too.

Everyone is also made accountable -- the customer can rate the driver and vice versa. And the rides are paid via credit cards. Only a few Hong Kong taxis are accepting Octopus cards...

When it comes to taxis, there is no outlet to complain effectively and in a timely manner. Nor is there any kind of punishment let alone motivation for taxi drivers to improve their behavour and the condition of their vehicles.

The biggest complaints of taxis are refusing to take a potential customer, and overcharging; and why is it that they all seem to be unavailable at 4pm?

And yet the authorities seem to be at the mercy of the taxi industry. Recently, some taxi drivers have posed as Uber customers and instructing them to drop them off where the police are to get the ride-hailing drivers into trouble.

The public finds this tactic reprehensible and more annoyed with taxi drivers in general, and yet the government has not stopped them, or found a viable solution.

Taxi drivers worry about value of licenses

For taxi drivers it boils down to how much they had to shell out to buy a taxi license, which is now valued at HK$3 million (US$384,490); there are concerns that legalising Uber would devalue the taxi license.

Some say there is enough room for everyone to co-exist, while others say the government is reluctant to affect the value of the taxi licenses. Why is it that a taxi license has become an investment commodity? And we're in 2024, taxis do not have the monopoly when it comes to getting around, with the MTR, bus, tram, Star Ferry and now Uber.

The other issue is that the government officials who need to decide on this issue have not taken either mode of transport -- they have their own chauffeured cars. If they have experienced what it's like to take a taxi and an Uber first hand, then they will see why people prefer the latter over the former...