Hong Kong's Transport Department closed applications for ride-hailing service licences at noon on Friday 30 October 2026. Eight applications were in. The department described the response as positive. Eight applications received
Uber, Tada, Amap and Didi Chuxing confirmed to the South China Morning Post that their papers had gone in. All four already serve Hong Kong, on the Post's account. Amap is operated by Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post. The department has not published the other four names.
The counter in Yau Ma Tei
The invitation of 28 August required the form, the service proposal and the supporting papers at the reception counter of the Transport Department headquarters. The address is the 10th floor, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei. The fee was a cashier's order for HK$16,250. Anything after noon on 30 October was late, and a late application is not accepted. Invitation to apply
The Post's picture of Didi's representatives, with their application papers, was taken at that headquarters.
The bar for a licence
An applicant has to be a company registered in Hong Kong, and has to keep executive staff and an office in the city. It has to show lawful ride-hailing work in a city of 7.5 million people or more, and a daily average of 100,000 or more passenger orders in each of two cities where it provides the service. The file has to include audited financial reports for the past three years, paid-up capital of at least HK$50 million, bank deposits of at least HK$30 million, and a credit line of at least HK$30 million.
The service proposal covers management of the company, checks that owners and drivers meet the owner-driver binding requirement, and customer service. It also covers plans to encourage holders of driving permits to take more trips, taxi bookings on the platform, and encouraging taxi drivers to register.
A licence that is granted lasts at most five years. The annual fee is HK$1.2 million.
The department is building a data system that licensed platforms will feed in real time. The data is for regulating the services and for later reviews of supply and demand. Transmission and storage have to be secure. Without the consent of the people concerned, a platform may not use the data for any other purpose, or pass it on.
The assessment
A committee drawn from the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Digital Policy Office and the Transport Department will assess the eight applications and recommend to the Commissioner for Transport whether to grant the licences. The department's checklist for that work adds fleet management, the booking platform, the plan for starting the service, service commitments, and experience of running a ride-hailing platform.
The aim is to announce the qualified platforms within this year.
The department's account of the test was this: "The Government is committed to enhancing personalised point-to-point transport services as a whole, providing passengers with more diverse travel choices that are safe, lawful and compliant with regulatory requirements, while fostering a healthy competitive environment and promoting the long-term, healthy and sustainable development of the industry. We will carefully assess each application to ensure that licensed platforms have the necessary operational and financial capabilities to provide safe, reliable and efficient ride-hailing services sustainably."
Vehicle permits
Platforms, vehicles and drivers will each need their own permission. Applications for ride-hailing vehicle driving permits, and for vehicle permits, are to be set out later, in step with licensed platforms starting work.
On 26 May the government gazetted the Road Traffic (Limit on Number of Ride-hailing Vehicle Permits) Notice. The limit proposed then was 10,000 vehicle permits at this stage, based on a Transport Department survey of demand for personalised point-to-point services. The same account recorded busy traffic, and that nearly 90 per cent of the public rely on public transport for their daily journeys. The Legislative Council passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Services) Ordinance 2025 in October 2025. Scrutiny of four pieces of subsidiary legislation finished in mid-July 2026, and most of the regime came into operation on 3 August 2026. Vehicle permit limit
Transport minister Mable Chan told the Post on Saturday 24 October that the arrangements for allocating the vehicle permits would begin in November.
What four operators added
Uber's message to the Post was that it would draw on its global experience and its record in Hong Kong: "Drawing on its global operational experience and local track record, Uber will work closely with the government to implement the regulatory requirements." Uber had earlier warned that 10,000 permits could leave a gap in the service.
Didi's message was that it would cooperate with the approval and carry on the preparatory work for the new system. On Didi's own count, newly registered taxi drivers on its platform rose by more than 35 per cent over the past three months, set against the three months before. That percentage is the company's, not an official total.
Amap's message was that it could provide a quality service and would comply, offering trips that are safe, convenient and varied.
A forecast, not a new limit
Former lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun treated the number of applications as expected, because he sees strong demand for ride-hailing in Hong Kong. His forecast is that the 10,000 permit figure will be raised. He pointed to young people, and to domestic helpers who do not speak Cantonese. No higher limit has been announced.