Hong Kong ride-hailing rules must ensure fair competition with taxis: John Lee

A long-awaited regulatory proposal on online ride-hailing services set to be unveiled on Tuesday must establish standards and responsibilities for such platforms while offering room for taxi drivers’ survival, Hong Kong’s leader has said.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said that, despite the complexity of the issue, the city should no longer delay addressing it.

“There has been a lack of a regulatory framework since the first online ride-hailing service platform entered the Hong Kong market in 2014, while the quality of taxi services also fails to meet residents’ expectations,” Lee said.

He added that a lot of issues, from passenger protection and quality of drivers to how cabbies and ride-hailing operators could coexist, had emerged over the years but had yet to be sorted out.

“I agree that the issue is complicated, but the problem should no longer be dragged on and that the government should come up with solutions,” he said.

Lee said the Transport and Logistics Bureau would submit the relevant paper to the legislature on Tuesday afternoon.