Mable Chan tests Baidu autonomous vehicle, planning further tests in June

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan recently made history as the first government official to ride in Baidu's autonomous vehicle, expressing satisfaction with its performance during the test run.

Her experience came after Hong Kong made significant strides in autonomous vehicle development as Baidu geared up to broaden its self-driving car testing program in North Lantau, extending new routes to areas near Hong Kong International Airport.

The expanded trial will now include five designated pick-up and drop-off points.

In a detailed blog post about her experience, Chan described how the self-driving vehicle adeptly navigated a designated test route near the airport, showcasing excellent performance in various traffic scenarios, including yielding to other vehicles, changing lanes, and maneuvering through roundabouts.

She noted that the vehicle's operation was virtually indistinguishable from that of human-driven cars. The trials have achieved multiple technological breakthroughs, most notably scaling up operations from just one or two vehicles to ten autonomous cars operating simultaneously since late April.

Following thorough safety evaluations, the program will progress to passenger-carrying tests and expand beyond single-route testing to more complex public roads and residential areas.

Baidu's future plans include extending testing operations to Tung Chung and Cyberport while raising the maximum permitted speed limit from 30 km/h to 50 km/h or higher to better simulate real-world driving conditions.

The company also revealed its intention to transition from testing left-hand drive vehicles to right-hand drive models, a strategic move to adapt to Hong Kong's traffic system and prepare for potential global expansion.

In a related development, the Airport Authority announced plans to introduce autonomous minibus services later this year. These autonomous shuttles will transport passengers between the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Hong Kong port and nearby commercial facilities via the newly developed "Airportcity Link."

The three-minute journey will accommodate up to sixteen passengers per vehicle, with the system initially capable of handling approximately 500 one-way trips per hour.

Long-term plans aim to increase this capacity to 2,000 hourly trips by 2028, when the service is expected to extend to Tung Chung town center, providing seamless connections to the MTR network.