Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan stated that the quota for the "Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles" scheme has not been fully utilized, and the scheme will be extended to cover four additional cities in Guangdong Province after half a year.
The scheme, which provides a daily quota of 100 spots and was implemented about a month ago, allows approved Guangdong vehicles to enter the urban areas of Hong Kong.
Speaking on a television program on Sunday (Jan 25), the transport chief said around 1,000 appointments have been made for the scheme so far, accounting for only about one-third of the total available capacity.
Chan noted that this figure aligns with the government's expectations, highlighting a steady increase in Guangdong vehicles entering the city when comparing data from January to last December.
The trend is expected to continue, she said, especially after the second day of the Lunar New Year.
She added that in January, nearly half of the Guangdong vehicles stayed overnight for one or two nights, indicating visitors would spend up to three days in Hong Kong.
Chan further stated that the scheme will be extended to cover four more cities in Guangdong Province after six months, and the government remains open to increasing the quota or extending the length of stay.
She emphasized that the very few incidents involving Guangdong vehicles were addressed promptly, with no major traffic accidents observed. However, she did not provide specific penalty figures.
Chan explained that offenders will be notified via electronic warnings regarding the provisions they violated. "For serious violations, we will inform them that their application eligibility is temporarily suspended until they provide a satisfactory response," she added.
Additionally, vehicles from Guangdong entering Hong Kong are permitted to have non-transparent side windows following international practice, sparking public debate over whether such rules could be extended to local private cars.
Chan said that internal research is underway to explore whether updates to vehicle window transparency requirements can be made in response to advancements in driving safety technology, with industry consultations expected in the first half of the year.
