AV Pilot Licence Issued
With the promising advantages of enhancing road safety by eliminating human errors and optimising the use of limited road space, AV technologies have considerably advanced in recent years with various road testing being conducted worldwide. To plan for the development of AV technology in Hong Kong, the Government released the "Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint" in December 2017, which set out one of the Smart Mobility initiatives being the facilitation of AV trial. The vision of materialising AV trial on public roads was further set out in the Smart Mobility Roadmap for Hong Kong published by the Transport Department ("TD") in July 2019.
Since 2017, to facilitate AV trials by the industry, the TD has been issuing Movement Permits in accordance with the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374E) to authorise each AV trial while customised conditions are individually imposed on a case-by-case basis. With the rapid development of AVs in recent years, the practice of allowing the testing of AVs through movement permit has limitations under the Road Traffic Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations.
With a view to embracing the evolving AV technologies and accommodating the emergence of AVs as a new mode of transportation, at the same time ensuring public safety, a new regulatory regime has been brought up-to-date to allow wider and more flexible trial of AVs on Hong Kong roads. The Transport and Logistics Bureau and the TD completed the legislative amendments of the "Road Traffic (Amendment) (Autonomous Vehicles) Ordinance 2023" and also made a new subsidiary legislation "Road Traffic (AVs) Regulations (Cap. 374AA)" in May 2023 and January 2024 respectively. The new regulatory regime for AVs came into operation on 1 March 2024.
The TD has also promulgated the "Code of Practice for Trial and Pilot Use of AVs", which also came into operation on 1 March 2024, to provide comprehensive guidance to the industry in technical, safety and operational aspects to facilitate the trial and pilot use of AVs.
The new regulatory regime gives flexibility for research into, testing and evaluation of AVs, thereby paving the way for wider use of AVs in Hong Kong in the future. For example, to allow the trial and pilot use of autonomous transport system "Airportcity Link" of the Airport Authority Hong Kong. This system will connect the Skycity and the Hong Kong Port Artificial Island to provide passenger services, and will be extended to Tung Chung city centre in the future.
| Pilot Proprietor | Validity Period | Number | Types | Trial Areas | Conditions | Annex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baidu Apollo International Limited | 2024-12-09 to 2029-12-08 (both dates inclusive) |
10* | Private Cars | North Lantau | A B |
|
| Kwoon Chung Motors Company, Limited | 2024-12-27 to 2025-10-02 (both dates inclusive) |
2 | Private Light Bus | West Kowloon Cultural District | A B |
* Not more than one pilot AV is allowed to be operated under autonomous mode on the trial routes and places