又中又英｜The Uber service

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is an American slang expression which means it is unnecessary or unwise to repair or change something that is not broken. Hong Kong’s Uber service is working perfectly. Opinion polls confirm it is far more popular than taxis. The taxi industry is broken and needs fixing. Opinion polls confirm this. Passengers say they don't mind paying more for Uber because taxi drivers are rude, often refuse to accept short trips, overcharge tourists, and purposely choose longer routes to cheat passengers. The government spent many months preparing a document for Legco on how to regulate services such as Uber.

But the document it gave Legco last week said the government would delay a decision until an undetermined time next year on how to license online services. The government did not say if it would increase the current limit of 1500 licences for ride-hailing vehicles. This unfairly puts Uber drivers in limbo for a long time. To be in limbo means to be in a situation where you do not know what will happen next. The government is also proposing rules to suspend for a year the driving licences of Uber drivers or even impound their cars if they don’t have a licence for ride-hailing services.

This shows the government is in bed with the taxi industry. To be in bed with used this way means to be closely associated with a person or organization in a way that makes others distrust you. Tougher rules against the 10000 freelance Uber drivers could make them jobless and benefit taxi drivers. Can the government hear the voice of the majority who prefer Uber?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 這是一句美式俚語習語，意思是若某樣物件沒有破損，根本不需要去修理它或改變它，這樣做亦是不智的。香港的Uber服務本身運行得很好，民意調查亦證實，它遠比的士受歡迎。的士業界卻是問題多多，需要修理。民意調查亦證實這一點。乘客們說他們不會介意付多一點錢用Uber，因為的士司機多是粗魯無禮、常常拒載短程、向遊客濫收車資，還故意兜遠路去欺騙乘客。政府花了許多個月為立法會準備文件，以規管如Uber的網約車服務。

然而，上星期政府給予立法會的文件，則是說它會延遲決定如何向網約車服務發牌，直至明年某個尚未確定的日子。政府也沒有說它會否增加現行1500個出租私家車牌照。這是很不公平地將Uber司機長時間置於不確定的狀態（in limbo）。To be in limbo是指你在一種不知何去何從的處境中，不知道接下來會發生甚麼事。政府亦將要提議修例，如果Uber司機沒有出租私家車牌照，可以取消其駕駛執照一年，甚至扣押涉事車輛。

這就反映出，政府跟的士業界是站在一起的（in bed with）。To be in bed with在這裏是指跟某人或某一機構緊密相連，以致其他人都不信任你。向一萬個自由作業的Uber司機實施更嚴厲的措施，會令他們失業，令的士司機得益。政府可以傾聽社會主流想要Uber的聲音嗎？

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻