A looming five-day strike against illegal ride-hailing services in Hong Kong has met with challenges including objections by some taxi drivers, with a number criticising the move as only driving more passengers to operators such as Uber and Amap.
Some drivers also told the Post on Thursday that the planned strike would do little to persuade the government to crack down on companies like Uber and Amap. Amap is part of the Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post.
Some drivers said what they feared was pressure from taxi owners from who they rented a car, rather than the ride-hailing service providers.
On Tuesday night, the Hong Kong Tele-call Taxi Association held a meeting at which 80 per cent of attendees, representing 30,000 drivers, had agreed to strike if authorities did not respond to its demands.
It said it would mobilise at least 1,000 drivers to go on strike if the government failed to heed its demands to enforce the law on ride-hailing platforms and service providers without a hire-car permit.
The planned strike would start on March 5 if authorities did not respond positively by next Wednesday.
