Some Hong Kong taxi drivers decry strike against illegal ride-hailing services

A looming five-day taxi strike against illegal ride-hailing services in Hong Kong has been met with challenges including objections by some cabbies, with a number criticising the move as only sending more passengers to operators such as Uber and Amap.

Some drivers also told the Post on Thursday the planned strike would do little to persuade the government to crack down on companies such as Uber and Amap.

Amap is part of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.

Some drivers said what they feared was pressure from taxi owners from whom they rented their vehicle, rather than the ride-hailing service providers.

On Tuesday night, the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association held a meeting at which 80 per cent of attendees, representing 30,000 drivers, agreed to strike if authorities did not respond to its demands.

The association said it would mobilise at least 1,000 drivers to strike if the government failed to heed its demands to enforce the law requiring ride-hailing platforms and service providers to operate with a hire-car permit.