Uber has urged officials to rethink increasing punishments for illegal rides, warning the livelihoods of its 14,000 drivers would be at stake if the government insisted on cracking down on the business.
The ride-sharing firm’s plea came after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in her policy address on Wednesday that the Transport and Housing Bureau was preparing legislative amendments on increasing the penalties for illegal carriage of passengers for reward and other malpractices of taxi service to “protect the interests of passengers”.