Trials of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Hong Kong have largely been smooth, demonstrating the special administrative region’s steady progress in promoting autonomous driving, which is on par with developments on the Chinese mainland and overseas, the Transport Department said on Saturday.
“We will accelerate the smooth transition of autonomous driving technology from the research and development testing phase to actual operation, and introduce and drive the industry to commence trials and applications in the community at full speed, so that more members of the public may access and experience the convenience of autonomous driving,” said Commissioner for Transport Winnie Tse Wing-yee.
She made the statement after observing one of the trials on Airport Island and taking a ride in an autonomous private car to learn more about its progress.
Till date, the Transport Department has issued six pilot licenses, involving the trial of 62 AVs at six locations, according to a government statement.
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The Airport Island trial routes cover a number of roads, public transport interchanges (PTIs) and car parks around the airport, SKYCITY, AsiaWorld-Expo, hotels and the Aircraft Maintenance Area. The other locations are the West Kowloon Cultural District, Cyberport in the Southern District, the Kai Tak Development Area in Kowloon East, the Airportcity Link, and the "Park & Fly" carpark at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port.
Following approval by the department, since late February 2026, the trial has been extended from Airport Island to Tung Chung and Sunny Bay, and the number of AVs operating simultaneously increased from 10 to 20 for the passenger-carrying trial on Airport Island, and from three to eight for the Tung Chung trial.
Apart from onboard backup operators, remote backup operators have been introduced for the first time during the Airport Island trial, operating the AVs from the remote control center with a view to testing the orderly transition to driverless operations, i.e. replacing in-vehicle backup operators with remote backup operators, said the Transport Department.
Secretary Tse said she was pleased to observe stable, safe and smooth trials across road sections, during which AVs shared the roads with other vehicles and complied with road safety rules, such as giving way to pedestrians and stopping in accordance with traffic light signals.
Chaired by the commissioner of transport, the Autonomous Vehicle Applications Promotion Working Group will review the progress of each AV project; provide steer on the trial locations, vehicle types and licensing arrangements required to support the commercial development of AVs; and explore appropriate regulatory arrangements to allow AVs to provide a certain degree of commercial services in specific areas on an individual pilot basis, according to the department.
