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New Uber Flash service in Hong Kong racks up 180,000 requests in first month despite taxi partner pulling out over threats to family
- Ride-hailing app’s business ‘growing nicely’ says regional head, but industry still opposed to company’s existence
- Number of journeys less than 1 per cent of almost 27 million taxi rides taken in city every month
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A new partnership between Uber and Hong Kong’s taxi companies got off to a steady start taking more than 180,000 orders over its first month in operation, the firm said.
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The new service, Uber Flash, which matches the ride-hailing app with taxis, went ahead despite the last-minute withdrawal of one partner, prompted by threats from within an industry afraid of giving the company a foot in the door.
Uber drivers already operate in Hong Kong, but as it is illegal to carry paying passengers without a hire car licence the company does not disclose figures for rides taken. It also declined to say how many taxi firms it was working with for the new service.
According to government statistics, Hongkongers took an average of 897,000 taxi journeys a day in 2017, which equates to almost 27 million journeys over the course of a month. Uber’s opening month is less than 1 per cent of that figure.
Emilie Potvin, Uber’s head of public policy for North Asia, told the Post that Uber Flash had fared well in the first month of operation.
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