Ride-hailing platforms seeking Hong Kong licence must have handled 100,000 orders a day

Ride-hailing platforms seeking Hong Kong licence must have handled 100,000 orders a day Government announces terms under new licensing scheme and lays down criteria for operators’ eligibility, including experience, capacity and capital Hong Kong authorities have opened licence applications for ride-hailing platforms under a new regulatory scheme, saying operators must have a proven track record of providing legal services in a city with a population of more than 7.5 million, while handling over 100,000 daily orders in at least two cities. Announcing the licensing terms on Friday, the Transport Department said that the eligibility criteria also included using technology such as facial recognition for due diligence checks to ensure vehicles were driven by their registered owners with valid permits. “By introducing the regulatory regime for ride-hailing services, we aim to require platforms, vehicles, and drivers providing these services to obtain relevant licences and permits, providing members of the public with safer and compliant choices for point-to-point transport,” a department spokesman said. “To ensure that ride-hailing platforms possess the operational capability to provide platform services, we will impose specific requirements regarding booking management technology, experience in operating ride-hailing platform services, financial proof and capital investment.” According to the new regulations, applicants must be companies registered in Hong Kong and maintain permanent executive personnel and an office in the city. Interested operators are required to submit audited financial reports for the past three years, and their capital must be no less than HK$50 million (US$6.4 million), with at least HK$30 million in bank deposits and a credit line of HK$30 million. In addition, operators will need to submit operational data for each trip to the government according to the specified frequency, method and format, and store such data in Hong Kong. [Image text:] TAXIAS uber Taxi