The Hong Kong government is set to welcome applications for 10,000 ride-hailing operator permits from August, the Transport and Logistics Bureau has announced.
The bureau said said in a statement on Thursday that the legislature had completed its review of subsidiary legislation to regulate ride-hailing services, including legislation stipulating the cap of the number of permits.
Vehicles in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The government aims to issue the first permits in November.
Transport and logistics minister Mable Chan told the press on Thursday that, despite the initial 10,000 permit cap, the number was “not a hard-and-fast figure.”
Instead, the government might adjust the number depending on various factors, including the platforms’ operations, algorithms, dispatch efficiency, and the drivers’ service models, Chan said.
Chan said completion of the legislative work to regulate ride-hailing services marked “a new milestone” for the city’s point-to-point transport, offering the public compliant, safe, more efficient, and diverse travel options.
New penalties
The government has been amending laws governing ride-hailing services since last year. Last October, the legislature passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Service) Ordinance 2025.
Secretary for Transport Mable Chan on December 17, 2025. Photo: GovHK.
Under the new mechanism, only licenced vehicles may provide ride-hailing services for customers while unlicenced platforms and drivers will see heavier penalties.
The bureau said on Thursday that, starting from August 3, drivers convicted of carrying passengers for hire or reward without a permit will be disqualified from driving for between 12 months and three years.
From August 22 next year, when all the legislation comes into effect, operating a ride-hailing platform in Hong Kong will require a valid licence. Licenced platforms must fully implement due diligence to ensure that all vehicles and drivers providing ride-hailing services under their banner hold valid permits.
Those operating an unlicenced ride-hailing platform from next August 22 may see a maximum fine of HK$1 million and up to 12 months of imprisonment.
The Uber app. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Uber, a ride-hailing giant, said in a submission to the legislature in May that it had more than 30,000 active ride-hailing drivers on its platform, arguing that the government’s proposed licence caps would not meet demand.
Uber estimated that, if the number of permits were capped at 15,000, four in 10 ride requests would still go unfulfilled during rush hours, while waiting times might double, and fares could increase by 70 per cent.