Hong Kong’s top court has rejected a last-ditch appeal by 24 Uber drivers on Tuesday, who had earlier been convicted of illegally carrying passengers for a reward.

The 24 drivers were convicted in 2018, with each driver fined HK$3,800 to HK$4,500 for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward without a hire car permit under the Road Traffic Ordinance. They had appealed their conviction in the High Court last year, but failed.

Five judges in the Court of Final Appeal dismissed arguments by Queen’s Counsel Jonathan Caplan who represented the 24 drivers during Tuesday’s hearing. The judgement will be issued on a later date.

Caplan had argued that there must be an agreement between a driver and passengers to substantiate the charge under the ordinance. The charge could not apply to Uber drivers as they only had an agreement with the ridesharing company and not with passengers, he told the court.

Uber said it was disappointed with Tuesday’s verdict and expects the court decision to affect more than 14,000 of its active drivers and several million passengers in Hong Kong.

There has been a lack of clear regulations on ridesharing in Hong Kong, Uber said, and it appealed to the government to arrange a meeting with the company to allow all stakeholders to seek a solution.

One Uber driver, who gave only his first name Simon, said he was disappointed by Tuesday’s verdict. He said he had earned enough to cover his living costs since becoming a full-time Uber driver last year.

It was regrettable that the government had ignored Uber’s efforts in seeking regulations on ridesharing, largely because it needed to look after the interests of existing taxi license holders, Simon said.

He would continue to drive for Uber as other job opportunities were limited amid the slowing economy, he said.

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