Hong Kong’s transport chief expects the application of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the city's selected communities within the next one to two years based on the current progress of testing.

The special administrative region government has implemented schemes for AV trials at locations such as the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) since 2017, and a new regulatory regime for AVs also came into operation last year to allow wider and more flexible trials of AVs on the roads.

“Under the new regulatory regime, the testing and application of AVs in Hong Kong are enhancing speed and efficiency,” Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said while replying to a related query at the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Wednesday.

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The Transport Department has issued two pilot licenses to allow 12 AVs to be tested in North Lantau and the WKCD, she added.

Significant progress has been made in the trial in North Lantau since its commencement at the end of last year and various breakthroughs have been achieved, according to her.

These include the scale of the trial being expanded from a single vehicle to 10 vehicles operating simultaneously in order to collect the data of multiple vehicles running in parallel; carrying passengers on specified routes after a safety assessment; conducting a trial on more complex roads; expanding current trial routes at Airport Island with plans to conduct a trial in Tung Chung in the future simultaneously; and allowing the speed limit to be increased to 50km per hour in accordance with the trial route's maximum speed limit.

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The project applicant also plans to expand the trial to Cyberport, Chan said, adding that another project, located at the WKCD, will trial autonomous light buses equipped with an autonomous driving system that follows Hong Kong's left-handed traffic rule.

“Upon completion of the entire system development and when the system has been proven safe to operate, trials with passengers will be carried out on public roads in the WKCD. Based on the current progress, we would expect AV application in selected communities within the next one to two years.”

Looking forward, the SAR government will consolidate the experience gained from various projects, refine technical standards, and share research outcomes with the industry to promote the development of AVs with safety as its guiding principle, said the transport chief.

Regarding the regulation of online car-hailing platforms, she said the Transport Department is conducting a study on the overall demand and supply of personalized point-to-point transport services.

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“The government will formulate legislative proposals on the regulation of online car-hailing platforms, including licensing requirements on the platforms, vehicles, and drivers, within this year after it has fully considered the report of the relevant Working Group under the Transport Advisory Committee and the views and the quantitative data collected,” she said, adding that the legislative proposals will then be presented to the LegCo.