Uber at HKG arrival
 

Sorry if this is somewhat OT but what on earth is going on with Uber at HKG arrivals?

I always select Car Park 1 pickup. On my arrival 4 days ago, the driver met me ON FOOT and said we had to walk outside the car park to the lot nearer the terminal building.

Arrived again today and the driver calls and insists that he cannot enter Car Park 1 and I need to meet him at the opposite end car park. Was not friendly at all and told me to cancel if I didn’t like it…

Next driver was perfectly fine, but anyone know what’s going on?

I just scanned the airport transportation thread....
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hong...g-airport.html

...for Uber and didn't see any mentions, but aren't taxis still considered more convenient (unless you happen to catch the queue at the wrong time)?

Taxis in HK are more dangerous (old man drivers who crash a lot) and require Cantonese and cash more often than not. I'll always take Uber when given the option.

For exiting the airport, though, I usually prefer Airport Express. One hack may be to take it and then just take your Uber from an Airport Express station.

There is no more free 15/30 minutes for stopping in the lot for pickup was what I was told.

Perhaps you should contact Uber and get them to update the Hong Kong Airport Pickup Guide

https://www.uber.com/en-HK/blog/airportpickup/

I vaguely recall a thread on FT in which a poster was whining about having to pay the parking fee. I guess it sort of makes sense for Uber to absorb that cost if they want to remain competitive though.

Compared to dirty stale tobacco cabs driven poorly by ride racers, Uber is my choice

GogoX or Lalamove are alternative to and from airport as well.

Can they come closer than Ubers? It would be a funny loophole if true for essentially moving vans.

Same system.

I use them if we are coming back with large amount of luggage.
Just put in the note to driver you will cover entry to P1.

Usual Uber xl home is 500.
GogoX is 300, but longer wait.

OK I think I've found the answer for this. You used to be able to enjoy 30 minutes of free parking every three hours at HKG. They've now tightened it down to just once per day. So depending on whether the driver's already used up his daily allowance, he may want to meet you outside of the car park:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230605...g-charges.page
https://www.hongkongairport.com/en/t...g-charges.page

Be aware that HK Taxi drivers are now running sting operations on Uber cars and getting the police involved. Uber is illegal in Hong Kong.

https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/hong-kong...sed-hire-cars/

(This was at the cruise terminal, but no reason why it couldn't also be at the airport.)

Uber is "illegal" but tolerated. Half the taxis are openly "UberTaxis." Like, it's painted in big letters on their livery. I've never had a problem and don't know anyone who has. And lawmakers are pissed at the taxi lobby that has been resisting modernization with things like digital payments, while knowing they would look silly for not having ride hailing in the city - a thing completely normal in the rest of the world, including mainland China. Taxi drivers are the only ones who really want a ban enforced, and they're not exactly a favored crowd. The government has been running their own undercover ops and busting them for cheating on fares and other issues.

Just wanted to make sure readers without experience in HK have context for this kind of thing. It's completely normal to take Uber in HK despite the technical law and the taxi lobby's attempted war on it.

Also note this from the above article:

"The police have confirmed that while they did respond to the scene and recorded details from the drivers, no arrests were made nor tickets issued at the time."

Shanghai tried to ban Didi at PVG just before Chinese New Year, they quickly reversed it after a massive uproar.

I should have been more specific. Uber Taxi is perfectly legal because it books vehicles and drivers who are licensed to provide carriage for hire. It is the unlicensed random vehicles and drivers of "non-taxi" Ubers who are breaking the law. Hiring a non-taxi Uber is not illegal as far as I am aware.