A Hong Kong court has quashed a government decision to refuse hire car permits to two prospective Uber drivers seven years ago, rejecting authorities’ contentions that the move could open the floodgates for ride-hailing services and private vehicles to operate as “pseudo-taxis”.
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In a written judgment handed down on Thursday, the High Court found the Commissioner for Transport’s dismissal of two litigants’ requests for a permit in 2018 to be based on an “impracticable, illogical and unworkable” interpretation of the legal requirement that would likely render all first-time applications unsuccessful.
The court also dismissed the government’s argument that the legislature had only intended for taxis to provide personalised point-to-point journeys, ruling that it would effectively impose a categorical ban on ride-hailing operators and run contrary to authorities’ clear assurance that they would not be excluded from providing point-to-point services.
Mr Justice Russell Coleman ordered the Transport Tribunal to consider the matter afresh, but noted his ruling “would be practically determinative” of the applications for a permit in the applicants’ favour.
He stressed the judgment only concerned the correct interpretation of the law governing the issuance of hire car permits but not the government’s policy on e-hailing platforms.
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The ruling came at a time when the government is mulling over legalising Uber and other ride-hailing services through the introduction of a regulatory framework amid popular demand and complaints against poor taxi services.
The litigants, Chen Hai-tao and Yin Wai-ho, jointly lodged a judicial review after failing to obtain a hire car permit that would have enabled them to legally work as Uber drivers using their Tesla Model S electric cars.