US-based Uber said on Thursday that the survey, conducted last month over six days, drew 10,009 passenger respondents, 90 per cent of whom considered the 10,000-permit cap “very insufficient”.
The survey, which also gathered responses from 4,569 drivers, found nearly 75 per cent felt “extremely concerned” about the cap and believed it would make it difficult to obtain permits, affecting their livelihoods.
Uber, which has dominated Hong Kong’s ride-hailing market amid a regulatory vacuum for 12 years, said the proposed quota accounted for only one-third of the more than 30,000 active drivers on its platform.
The survey is seen as Uber’s latest attempt to fend off the government’s controversial plan to regulate the number of ride-hailing vehicle permits, alongside setting requirements for drivers, vehicles and platform operators, before the Legislative Council’s summer recess.
“The survey results reflect riders’ and drivers’ honest feedback to the government’s proposed ride-hailing regulations,” Nicole Lee Tsz-yu, Uber Hong Kong’s head of public policy and government affairs, said in a statement.
