Taxi drivers’ years-long frustration with competition from the popular ride-hailing platform recently returned to the spotlight.

In a bid to pressure authorities into cracking down on illegal Uber services, cabbies carried out “undercover operations” by posing as passengers and asking their drivers to stop at places where they had called police.

Chung stressed on Monday that Uber and the taxi industry in Hong Kong were not enemies and could coexist in a healthy transport ecosystem such as that in Singapore.

“We believe ride sharing is safe and it can be regulated, and most importantly can coexist with the taxi service as in Hong Kong. We believe the government will choose a suitable direction for regulating ride sharing in Hong Kong,” Chung said at a media lunch.

“But most important is to take reference from four principles. I think [they are] reasonable vehicle standards, premium service for customers, flexible pricing and most importantly, flexible supply where drivers can flexibly earn income to put food on the table for their families.”

He said more than 100,000 drivers had earned an income through the platform in the past decade. According to the company’s latest available data, more than 216,000 drivers were registered with Uber and Uber Taxi by 2021.

Hong Kong has 46,000 taxi drivers and about 18,000 cabs on the road.

Chung pointed to Australia, where a surcharge is imposed on point-to-point travel through an Uber ride, with the funds allocated to support the local taxi industry.

He also said the entry of ride-hailing services in Singapore did not lead to the taxi industry’s reduction as cabbies still had an advantage as being able to pick up passengers on the street, whereas ride-hailing services operated on a point-to-point basis only.

Uber sold its Southeast Asian ride-sharing and food delivery businesses to regional rival Grab in 2018.

“The overall trend is towards acceptance of this technology, although the specific models may vary across countries and cities due to their unique characteristics,” Chung said.

Japan had recently introduced a ride-sharing model, while South Korea was moving in that direction, he added.

Trouble first began when the government’s trade promotion office, InvestHK trumpeted its success in bringing it to the city, but the Transport Department then deemed it an illegal service as it needed a hire-car permit.

Uber neither owns nor hires drivers but acts as a matching service between drivers and passengers and hence this approach is not regarded as viable.

Transport minister Lam Sai-hung earlier said one regulatory approach was to allow collaboration between ride-hailing platforms and drivers who possessed a hire-car permit. But the number of such permits is capped at 1,500.

Chung said as Uber had more than 10,000 active drivers monthly, the number of hire-car permits would not be able to meet the market demand.

“If the government establishes a legal framework for ride-hailing private vehicles, Uber is willing to cooperate and comply with the regulations,” he said.

Without revealing whether Uber had assessed worst-case scenarios, Chung said the platform would continue advancing and focusing on helping drivers to earn profits and providing passengers with a superior experience.

“It’s important to have a world-class point-to-point transport service in Hong Kong as an international financial centre.”