KayGo Driver Review: Registration Requirements, Earnings and Incentives, Insurance, the Legal Risk of Carrying Passengers in a Private Car, and the 2027 Regime

KayGo Driver is an order-taking app for private car drivers in Hong Kong, operated by KAYGO PTE. LTD., with a Hong Kong customer service line on +852 6672 1475. Bloomberg reported on 25 April 2025 that KayGo is recruiting drivers for DiDi in Hong Kong and that its drivers would gradually serve DiDi passengers; KayGo's privacy policy is also published through DiDi's link service.

DiDi's Hong Kong website currently lists only taxi hailing and a Guangdong–Hong Kong cross-border car service; taxi drivers use a separate app, 「滴滴司機－的士專用」, and must submit a taxi driver identity card. KayGo's registration, by contrast, centres on private car drivers and their vehicles.

Section 52(3) of the Road Traffic Ordinance provides that no person may drive or use a private car for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward unless a hire car permit is in force for the vehicle. Hire car permits are issued by the Transport Department to the registered owner in three categories (hotel, tour and private service) and are not transferable; a car for the private service category must have a taxable value above HK$300,000 and be six years old or less.

The Transport Department warns that a vehicle's third-party insurance may be invalid if a car carrying passengers illegally is involved in an accident. Most provisions of the ride-hailing legislation took effect on 3 August 2026; from that date, a driver convicted of illegally carrying passengers for reward is disqualified from driving for at least 12 months and up to 3 years. In other words, until 22 August 2027, a driver carrying passengers through KayGo in a private car without a hire car permit bears the criminal and insurance risk personally.

The Road Traffic (Amendment) (Ride-hailing Service) Ordinance 2025 was passed by the Legislative Council in October 2025. The Transport Department accepts platform licence applications until noon on 30 October 2026 and expects to issue licences in phases from the end of November at the earliest; applications for vehicle and driver permits are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The remaining provisions take effect on 22 August 2027, after which every ride-hailing trip must be booked through a licensed platform, with a ride-hailing vehicle permit for the car and a ride-hailing vehicle driving permit for the driver. The Government has set the limit on vehicle permits at 10,000 at this stage. Neither KayGo's website nor its app description mentions a platform licence.

Ride-hailing vehicle driving permit: aged 21 or over; a full private car or light goods vehicle licence held for at least one year; the Combined Written Test passed within three years and the 12-hour pre-service course completed within one year (holders of a full taxi licence are exempt from both); a permanent Hong Kong identity card, or a non-permanent one with no condition of stay other than a limit of stay; and no specified traffic convictions within five years. The fee is HK$82 a year, for up to five years.

Ride-hailing vehicle permit: the applicant must hold a driving permit and be the car's registered owner (one driver, one car); the car must have been manufactured less than 12 years before the application, and a car aged six years or more needs a roadworthiness certificate issued within the past year; third-party insurance must cover ride-hailing use; and any existing hire car permit is cancelled when the permit is issued. The fee is HK$540 for four months or less, HK$1,560 for more than four and up to 12 months, and HK$2,100 for more than 12 months.

For a new driver: a 12-month vehicle permit at HK$1,560, the first year of the driving permit at HK$82 and the vehicle certificate at HK$245 come to HK$1,887 in government fees in the first year. The Combined Written Test and pre-service course are charged separately, and the premium for insurance covering ride-hailing use must be obtained from an insurer.

On income, KayGo does not publish its commission rate, describing it only as 「超低」 (ultra-low), with limited-time zero commission at set times and in busy areas. During zero-commission periods the platform takes nothing; at other times, check the amount actually received per trip in the app's order breakdown, then deduct fuel, parking, tunnel tolls and insurance to arrive at net income.

After downloading KayGo Driver through the invite link and registering with a phone number and password, drivers submit their details for review and can go online once approved. Under KayGo's privacy policy, drivers must provide their name, photographs of both sides of an identity document and of themselves holding it, facial recognition data, driving licence, professional qualification certificate (if any), a photograph of the car at 45 degrees and one of the driver with the car, the car's make, model, colour and registration mark, vehicle licence documents, photographs of insurance policies, and a bank account or third-party payment account.

KayGo also checks whether applicants have criminal or misconduct records. The app reads location in the background, and the content of calls made through the platform is kept, for use in handling disputes and detecting private deals between drivers and passengers.

KayGo's app description lists ultra-low commission, limited-time zero commission at set times and in busy areas, peak-time surcharges, order-volume bonuses and service-quality rewards; there are no fixed shifts or clock-in requirements, several payout methods are supported, and earnings can be withdrawn daily.

None of these items carries a published amount or rate, and incentives change with each campaign. Before committing time, check the current campaign rules and fee breakdown in the app.

KayGo states that all trips carry third-party liability insurance under Hong Kong's Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance. The statement names no insurer, sum insured or policy conditions.

The Transport Department warns that third-party insurance may be invalid for a car carrying passengers illegally, and under the new regime the vehicle permit also requires third-party insurance covering ride-hailing use. Before going online, obtain written confirmation from your own motor insurer of whether your policy covers carrying passengers for reward, and ask KayGo for the scope of its cover.

The link on this page opens KayGo's 「邀請好友得獎勵」 (invite friends for rewards) page; the current tasks and rewards for new drivers are those shown on that page and on the campaign page in the app, and KayGo publishes no fixed reward amount for new drivers. The invite page states that rewards can be viewed and withdrawn in the driver wallet 24 hours after a task is completed.

When you join through an invitation, the inviter can see the last four digits of your phone number and the surname on your driver account, and may call you. This is our KayGo invite link.

As of 24 October 2026, KayGo Driver is rated 3.7 on the App Store (Hong Kong) from 52 ratings and 3.8 on Google Play from 45 reviews, with more than 10,000 downloads. With so few reviewers, the ratings carry limited weight.

The main points raised in reviews are: registration is simple; one review says there is no English interface, making the app hard to use for drivers who do not read Chinese; orders are scarce; and dissatisfaction with customer service, with a warning to other drivers to read the terms carefully.

Suitable for: owners whose cars hold a valid hire car permit; and drivers planning to apply for ride-hailing driving and vehicle permits under the new regime who wish to understand the platform and its earnings structure first.

Not suitable for: anyone intending to carry passengers in a private car without a hire car permit; drivers whose car is not registered in their own name or is close to 12 years old; and those expecting a fixed sign-up bonus.