The Government today gazetted four pieces of subsidiary legislation in order to establish a legal framework for the regulation of ride-hailing services.
The Road Traffic (Ride-hailing Service) Regulation sets out the details of the regulatory regime, including the validity period and renewal arrangement for ride-hailing service licences, ride-hailing vehicle permits and ride-hailing vehicle driving permits; the fees associated with the aforementioned licences and permits; and the obligations imposed on the holders of such licences and permits.
The Road Traffic (Limit on Number of Ride-hailing Vehicle Permits) Notice specifies the limit on the number of vehicle permits that may be issued ‒ at the current stage, the Government proposes capping the number of permits at 10,000.
Meanwhile, the Road Traffic (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 2026 introduces a combined driving test for taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, and the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Service) Ordinance 2025 (Commencement) Notice prescribes the commencement dates of the various provisions of the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Service) Ordinance 2025.
With the busy traffic in Hong Kong and the fact that nearly 90% of the public rely on public transportation for their daily journeys, the Government needs to impose an overall control on the number of ride-hailing vehicles, the Transport & Logistics Bureau explained.
Based on the data collected from a survey administered by the Transport Department, and having holistically considered all relevant factors and views from various sectors of society, the Government proposed setting the limit on vehicle permits at 10,000 at this stage, believing that this can balance considerations regarding road resources and the public transport ecosystem, and allow the ride-hailing regulatory regime to be implemented smoothly.
The Government will table the four pieces of subsidiary legislation before the Legislative Council tomorrow for negative vetting.
