When you read the title of this article, you can't help but think, Hong Kong taxis are so angry! Why do you want to kick online car-hailing away? Why is this happening, let's talk about this issue today.
In fact, there is no justifiable online car-hailing in Hong Kong, so it stands to reason that online car-hailing in Hong Kong is a violation of Hong Kong's laws, but the Hong Kong government has no choice but to let them survive.
100 years ago, in June 1923, Hong Kong's first taxi operator was established under the name Hong Kong Kowloon Taxi Company, which introduced 80 French Citroën motorhomes.
Since then, the license plates of taxis that need to be registered for "commercial passenger use" are black to distinguish between them, and the taxi industry has made money like a pig's cage in water, creating countless taxi kings.
Seeing that the taxi industry is so profitable, many people drive their own cars and also go to pick up passengers, because they do not have a "commercial passenger use" license plate, and the license plate color is white, so this kind of car is called "white plate car".
At that time, it was very expensive, and this kind of white-plate car filled the gap in Hong Kong's traffic, and the fare was cheap, and it instantly became the favorite of many Hong Kong citizens, which made the taxi industry "hate it to the bone".
In order to increase the number of passengers, the white plate cars from four to more than a dozen, in the 70s Hong Kong British government began to regulate these types of minibuses, so they were licensed, and became the famous red minibus in Hong Kong.
However, the white brand car continues to take root in Hong Kong, and it can't be stopped, after all, it can fill the gap in the Hong Kong market demand, and finally in 2014, the online booking platform officially entered Hong Kong.
All of a sudden, the Hong Kong taxi industry finally couldn't bear it anymore, and after 100 years of open and secret fighting, this time the name of the white-plate car was justified, and it became a "legitimate business".
Moreover, as everyone knows, taxis in Hong Kong are not expensive, and license plates are expensive! Under the regulation of the Hong Kong government, a taxi license plate has actually been sold to more than 7 million yuan, and no city in the world can do this at such a sky-high price.
As a result, the voices of opposition to online car-hailing have fluctuated with each other, and the taxi industry has entered a "state of war" since 2018, and groups of taxi opposition representatives have come to the door of the Hong Kong government.
The times are a non-stop giant wheel, slowly rolling forward, the society is also following the development, online car-hailing is becoming more and more mature, and it has instantly become the favorite of many Hong Kong people, and the Hong Kong government cannot stop it, so it can only let it develop.
Here is the flesh in the palm of the hand, there is the skin on the back of the hand, here is the opposition of taxis, and there is the defense of online car-hailing; the Hong Kong government is bitter, but it can't say it, so it can only swallow tears into its stomach.
As a result, Hong Kong has become a peculiar phenomenon, with some taxis, some online taxis, and some online white-plate cars, and the Hong Kong government from time to time grabs one or two white-plate cars to show its determination, but also condones its development.
Until now, the Hong Kong government's attitude towards the development of online car-hailing is still very ambiguous, whether to approve or prohibit the operation, still no leader dares to stand up and nod his head to admit.
Recently, the Hong Kong Government Transport Department said that it began to study how to regulate the online car-hailing platform and strengthen the crackdown on illegal activities.
Online car-hailing believes that the Hong Kong government must always give a name, after all, now that it has become bigger, it can include online car-hailing drivers in the labor contract, otherwise it is too difficult to manage now and cannot do service supervision.
Taxi and minibus operators believe that the Hong Kong government must "kick out" the ride-hailing platforms and let the business flow "back" to the taxi industry to improve the service level, and it is best to increase the price so that the taxi can improve the quality of service!