Most Hong Kong people know taxis are hard to come by during typhoons and rainstorms. If something is hard to come by, it means it is difficult to find or get. I had an important appointment in Central last Tuesday when the Observatory issued the amber rainstorm warning, then raised it to red. I didn’t try looking for a taxi. Walking to the MTR wearing a suit was impossible because I would get soaked even with an umbrella. I booked an Uber. A polite driver in a Tesla arrived in about six minutes!
The fare was higher than normal, but taxi drivers also demand higher fares during storms even though it’s illegal. Opinion polls show most Hong Kong people prefer Uber because taxi drivers are rude, and their vehicles are not clean. But most Uber drivers do not have government hire-car permits. That’s why the taxi trade wants the government to ban Uber. Some taxi drivers even tried to play cat and mouse with Uber drivers. To play cat and mouse means to try to deceive people by tricking them into making mistakes.
The taxi drivers, pretending to be passengers, booked Uber rides to destinations where they had asked police to wait. But the trick failed because the police only asked the Uber drivers a few questions and then left. The government will release an initial report in July on whether to legalize ride-hailing services such as Uber. Most developed cities allow Uber or other ride-hailing apps. Hong Kong would stick out like a sore thumb if the government bans Uber. To stick out like a sore thumb means to be very noticeable in a bad way.
大部分香港人都知道，在颱風及暴雨期間實在很難截到（hard to come by）的士。若某事物是hard to come by，意即它是很難找得到或取得。上星期二，我有一個很重要的約會，卻正值天文台發出黃色暴雨，然後又轉為紅色暴雨警告之時。我沒有嘗試截的士，但亦不可能穿着西裝去搭港鐵，因為即使撑傘也會全身濕透。我預訂了Uber，一位駕着Tesla，彬彬有禮的司機只消6分鐘便到達！
這一程的車資比平常要高，但的士司機在暴風雨期間亦會索取更高的車資，即使是非法的。意見調查顯示，大部分香港人都寧願搭Uber，因為的士司機粗魯無禮，車廂亦不潔淨。但大部分的Uber司機都沒有政府的出租汽車許可證，因此的士業界希望政府可以禁止Uber。有一些的士司機甚至跟Uber司機 play cat and mouse——to play cat and mouse是指哄騙人，讓人上當而做錯事。
的士司機假裝乘客預訂Uber，目的地卻早已找了警察來等他們。但這計謀失敗了，因為警方只是問了Uber司機幾條問題便離開。政府將於7月發表初步調研結果，討論如Uber般的網約叫車應否合法化。大部分已發展城市都會容許Uber或其他叫車的手機程式。若政府禁止Uber的話，香港便會「突出如受傷疼痛的拇指」（stick out like a sore thumb）——to stick out like a sore thumb是指很顯眼、礙眼，與四周格格不入而顯得突兀。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
