Should Hong Kong legalise ride-hailing services like Uber? Taxi sector draws ire over ‘rude and surly’ drivers, with officials accused of protecting industry

Critics say city’s image at stake amid complaints about horror taxi rides, rude cabbies and lack of epayment solutions. Government caught in ‘deadlock’ as it vows to stamp out bad taxi behaviour, but still targets illegal ride-hailing platforms despite their popularity. — SCMP

Business consultant Jackson Leung, 28, fractured a rib when the Hong Kong taxi he was riding in crashed into another vehicle while the cabby was distracted by orders arriving over multiple smartphones on his dashboard.

“It was a complete nightmare,” he recalled. “The taxi driver was inattentive the whole time, picking up orders non-stop, and in the end he hit another vehicle.”