Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi voiced confidence in the growth prospects of Hong Kong’s market, citing the city’s strong appeal to visitors as reasons for the company’s continued investment.

“We think, increasingly, Hong Kong — as a destination for tourists, both from the Chinese mainland (and from) all over the world — is going to be an attractive market,” Khosrowshahi told reporters on Friday during his first visit to the city since taking office in 2017.

Hong Kong’s legislature, the Legislative Council, passed a bill in October establishing a regulatory framework for ride-hailing services operating in the city, requiring drivers, vehicles, and platforms to obtain the necessary licenses or permits.

Specific details — including the license quota cap, which has sparked debate within the industry – have yet to be finalized. The special administrative region government said it plans to table subsidiary legislation outlining the detailed requirements to the LegCo in the first half of next year.

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Khosrowshahi welcomed the government’s move, calling it a “decisive step” and a major milestone that reflects Hong Kong's ambition to become a leading smart city.

Uber has continued to invest in Hong Kong, and its ridesharing business and relationship with the local taxi sector continues to grow, the CEO said.

He added that Uber is anticipating being incorporated into the city’s forthcoming licensing framework and expects to continue its operations under the new regime.

The global leading transport service provider has operated its ridesharing platform in Hong Kong since 2014. More than 30,000 local drivers earned income through the platform last year, while over 70 percent of the city’s taxis also use it, according to the company.

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Khosrowshahi called on the Hong Kong SAR government to adopt a flexible, demand-driven quota system for licensing ridesharing services.

He said the proposed quota “is not necessarily about the number” of licenses, but about ensuring the reliability and quality of ridesharing services.

“The majority of our drivers are part-time, they work less than 20 hours a week. So the number of cars on the road is going to move up and down based on the time of day, or the day of week, based on demand patterns,” Khosrowshahi said.

“We’re hoping to have a quota system that is dynamic and is essentially designed for the growth that we see in the market going forward.”

He added that the company is having “constructive dialogue” with relevant regulators.

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The Transport Department commissioned a consultancy to survey about 1,400 residents and visitors and more than 300 taxi drivers last year. The poll estimated that Hong Kong handles roughly 880,000 point-to-point passenger trips each day, with ride-hailing services accounting for about 190,000 trips — or around 22 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of surveyed taxi drivers said they had received orders through ride-hailing platforms.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan earlier said the government will move to the next stage of finalizing the regulatory details, and will hold discussions with related stakeholders.

“We will continue to listen to the views and suggestions from all parties, with a view to adopting a 'people-oriented and win-win' approach,” Chan added.

The legislative procedures are expected to be completed in mid-2026, with the first batch of licensed platforms set to begin operations as early as the fourth quarter next year.

Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com