A cacophony of taxi horns rang out in Hong Kong at noon today as angry taxi drivers called on authorities to ban ride-hailing app Uber from the city.
The demonstration — which saw dozens of cabs circling around Wan Chai and Admiralty in a so-called “slow drive” protest — centered on the Central Government Headquarters, where members of a taxi drivers alliance gathered to denounce the ride sharing service, shouting “down with Uber.”
The group accuse the government of “turning a blind eye” to the ride-hailing app’s illegal services in Hong Kong.
They are demanding a meeting with the secretary for transport to address their grievances and have threatened to flood Central with taxis if they don’t receive a “proper” response by next Tuesday.
When Coconuts HK arrived outside the government offices, about 40 taxi drivers held banners or wore T-shirts slamming the US ride.
Wong Yu-ting, vice chairman of the Association for Taxi Industry Development told Coconuts that the Transport and Housing Department had ignored unlicensed Uber cars for the last four years, which he said has significantly affected their business.
“Unlicensed cars should not be allowed to earn money by collecting passengers, but Uber is very clear that it’s a car-hailing service where drivers can earn money,” Wong said.
“Hong Kong has a lot of regulations on this, and we’re a society based on the rule of law.”
The government’s current policy requires drivers for ride-sharing services, such as Uber, Ryde and Hopsee, to operate like traditional taxis and obtain one of the 1,500 hire-car permits allocated by the city. The permit’s strict criteria, however, make them next to impossible for ride-hailing drivers to obtain.
Driving a car for hire without a permit can result in a HK$5,000 (US$638) fine and three months in prison on the first conviction, and a HK$10,000 fine and six months in jail on a subsequent conviction. Twenty-one Uber drivers were charged with the offense last year.
However, the service in December announced it was still performing well in Hong Kong despite its legal woes.
Among factors driving people to ride sharing services, are complaints of traditional taxis refusing fares or overcharging customers. Both practices are illegal.
Wong, however, claimed this was a “minority” of drivers and said the alliance supported enforcement action against. He further claimed that a survey by the group showed that 60 to 70 percent of customers were happy with taxi operators.
Also present at the rally was Civic Party lawmaker Jeremy Tam, who said he believed Uber should co-exist with Hong Kong’s taxis, citing Singapore as an example where individuals can hail either an Uber or a taxi via the Uber app.
He called the government’s proposal to introduce 600 franchised taxis to provide a “premium service” in the city, “old thinking” and instead called for a separate licensing system for ride sharing services to regulate the sector.
“It needs to cater for individuals to use their vehicles to do business, but you charge them so there’s an equal playing field with taxis,” he said.
