A software update knocked out Hong Kong's parking meters for four hours on Tuesday, with refunds for all outage transactions expected within the week, according to the Transport Department.
The outage hit about 11,000 parking meters across the city starting around 8 am yesterday, with emergency repairs restoring normal service after noon.
Preliminary findings suggest the outage stemmed from an early-morning software update that caused a backend failure, cutting the system off from its parking meters.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan confirmed there was no evidence of malicious tampering with the system.
The department has notified the incident to the Digital Policy Office, and the operator will refund all transactions made from 8am to 12.15pm to the original payment method, with approvals targeted within the week.
Authorities have also ordered the operator to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a detailed report to prevent similar incidents.
The TD and the operator said they have received about 1,100 inquiries about the incident and promised to follow up as appropriate.
To ensure stable service for drivers, the department pledged a serious and careful investigation along with better contingency plans.
Police reviewing tickets issued during outage
During the outage, police temporarily suspended enforcement at roadside metered parking spaces until the system was restored.
Tickets issued for roadside parking during the outage are under review, with police saying each case will be handled based on its circumstances.
Drivers who believe their ticket may be linked to the system failure can visit the Central Traffic Prosecutions Division on the 11th floor of Police Headquarters in Wan Chai, write to the division by mail or email, or call the 181 181 hotline.
The force's e-Report Center, the e-Traffic Ticket Platform and its mobile app are also available for drivers to lodge a complaint about the ticket.
Expert urges tighter upgrade safeguards
Francis Fong Po-kiu, the honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, said the operator has a duty to ensure stability as a public service provider.
To minimize disruption, he advised scheduling major upgrades during non-peak hours, completing testing beforehand and putting an immediate rollback mechanism in place.
Lawmaker Ben Chan Han-pan, who chairs the Legislative Council's transport panel, also called on the operator to examine the system and introduce automatic fault detection to shorten repair times.
Drawing on the incident, Chan recommended that the department use more channels, including official apps, to notify the public during future outages.
Regarding compensation from the operator to the government, he said the matter should be handled according to the contract, suggesting that the Transport Department consider a scoring system based on the service performance.
