Hong Kong has expanded the testing area for self-driving cars to Tung Chung, allowing a company with a pilot license to test up to 10 autonomous vehicles in nine more locations in North Lantau.
The licensee can conduct trials, maximum three private cars at a time, at a specific time frame in an area which now includes more roads near Tung Chung Waterfront, several private residential estates like Coastal Skyline, and public housing Yat Tung Estate.
The new areas are: Man Tung Road, Ying Hei Road, Yi Tung Road, Tung Chung Eastern Interchange, Yu Tung Road, Chung Yan Road, Shun Tung Road, Tung Chung Waterfront Road and Wai Tung Road.
Authorities currently require a label on every test vehicle so other road users can identify them.
In a statement released today, the Transport Department said it has made significant progress since the pilot project began in December 2024, such as conducting passenger-carrying trials and increasing the speed limit to 50 kilometers per hour.
“This updated pilot licence further expands the trial routes, so that more useful data can be collected to evaluate AV (autonomous vehicle) performance in more different road conditions and communities,” a Transport Department spokesman said.
The department is inviting more companies to apply for auto-driving car trials and contribute to Hong Kong’s self-driving car development. It vowed to continue to exercise stringent control on autonomous vehicle trials in a safe and orderly manner.
(Jamie Liu)
