More than 400 taxi drivers in New Territories plan to strike against Uber on Wednesday

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Hong Kong - More than 17 taxi groups in Hong Kong are preparing to go on strike during off-peak hours this Wednesday (22nd) to protest against the online ride-hailing platform Uber. Specific details of the strike will be announced later. According to sources, the taxi group has agreed to go on strike from 11 am to 2 pm, aiming to minimize the impact on passengers in the early stages of the action.

About 400 taxis, mostly from the New Territories, plan to gather and park at open-air car parks in the area. It is reported that representatives of the Transport Department visited the Hong Kong Taxi Owners Association two days ago (18th) to discuss matters, but made no commitment on the meeting arrangements.

Sources revealed that 17 taxi groups discussed the strike timetable on November 18, taking into account the impact of the strike on taxi drivers' income during afternoon off-peak hours. They decided to schedule the strike from 11am to 2pm in order to minimize the inconvenience to passengers. They worry that excessive strike action could prevent many citizens from getting taxis, hampering the achievement of their goals. They emphasized that the purpose was not to confront, but to express dissatisfaction with certain officials. If their demands are not met, they will consider further action in a second phase.

The specific location of the strike will be announced on the 21st, but it is understood that taxis will be parked in open-air parking lots in the New Territories. About 300 taxis in the New Territories and about 100 taxis in urban areas have expressed interest in participating. If there are insufficient parking spaces, taxis may park at different locations depending on availability. The initiating group of this action is mainly New Territories taxi drivers, who own and manage a total of approximately 1,800 taxis, accounting for more than 60% of the total number of taxis in the New Territories. One group even said, "If they're complaining about the taxi shortage, let's see how many taxis they need before they're willing to stop (referring to Uber)."

According to sources, the Chief Transport Officer (Planning/Taxi 1) of the Transport Department, Wong Wai-lun, visited the Hong Kong Taxi Owners Association two days ago (18th). However, the meeting was arranged before the strike action and was not specifically planned for the strike action. Nonetheless, multiple taxi industry groups took the opportunity to express their concerns to Mr Huang, demanding legislative changes to crack down on illegal taxis and crackdown on Uber, and discuss how to increase taxi drivers' income. Attendees revealed that Huang was required to consult with superior officials before making any decisions and did not commit to meeting with initiating groups before the strike.

However, some in the taxi industry believe they have previously organized slow-car protests and strikes against Uber in 2018, but no action has been taken to address the issue five years later. As a result, they suspect that if meetings are arranged, they will be done in a perfunctory manner. They tend to carry out strike action first and assess its effectiveness before considering further measures.

新界400多名出租车司机计划周三罢工反对Uber

香港——超过17家香港的士集团准备本周三（22日）非高峰时段举行罢工，抗议网约车平台Uber。 罢工的具体细节将在稍后公布。 据消息人士透露，出租车集团已同意在上午11点至下午2点进行罢工，旨在将行动初期对乘客的影响降到最低。

约400辆出租车（大部分来自新界）计划聚集并停泊在该地区的露天停车场。 据悉，运输署代表两天前（18日）到访香港的士车主协会商讨事宜，但没有就会议安排作出承诺。

消息人士透露，17个出租车集团于11月18日讨论了罢工时间表，考虑到罢工对下午非高峰时段出租车司机收入的影响。 他们决定将罢工安排在上午11点至下午2点，以尽量减少给乘客带来的不便。 他们担心过度的罢工行动可能会阻止许多公民乘坐出租车，从而阻碍他们目标的实现。 他们强调，目的不是对抗，而是表达对某些官员的不满。 如果他们的要求没有得到满足，他们将考虑在第二阶段采取进一步行动。

罢工具体地点将于21日公布，但据了解，出租车将停放在新界的露天停车场。 新界约300辆的士及市区约100辆的士表示有兴趣参与。 如果停车位不足，出租车可能会根据供应情况停放在不同地点。 此次行动的发起群体主要是新界的士司机，他们拥有并管理约1,800辆的士，占新界的士总数的60%以上。 一个团体甚至表示，“如果他们抱怨出租车短缺，让我们看看他们需要多少辆出租车才愿意停下来（指的是 Uber）。”

据消息人士透露，运输署总运输主任（策划/的士1）黄伟伦前两天（18日）到访香港的士车主协会。 不过，这次会议是在罢工行动之前安排的，并不是专门为罢工行动而策划的。 尽管如此，多个出租车行业团体还是趁机向黄先生表达了他们的担忧，要求修改立法打击非法出租车和Uber，并讨论如何增加出租车司机的收入。 与会者透露，黄在做出任何决定之前必须先咨询上级官员，并且没有承诺在罢工前与发起团体会面。

然而，出租车行业的一些人士认为，他们之前曾在2018年组织过慢车抗议和针对Uber的罢工，但五年后却没有采取任何行动解决这一问题。 因此，他们怀疑，如果安排会议，也会是敷衍了事。 他们倾向于先采取罢工行动并评估其有效性，然后再考虑采取进一步措施。