📋 Tender Overview
The Transport Department TD announced today February 23 that a pilot licence for autonomous vehicles AVs has been updated in accordance with section 203b of the Road Traffic Autonomous Vehicles Regulation Cap 374AA to commence a crossdistrict AV trial connecting Airport Island in North Lantau with Tung Chung Town Centre and Sunny Bay This will achieve the goal of crossdistrict AV application and promote safe and orderly driverless AVs as set out in the Policy Address and the Transport Strategy Blueprint
A spokesman for the TD said that since its launch in end2024 the North Lantau trial has made significant progress achieving four notable technical advancements within 2025 namely the simultaneous operation of multiple vehicles passengercarrying trials expanded routes and increased vehicle speeds The results of the trials fully demonstrated Hong Kongs steady progress in promoting autonomous driving laying a solid foundation for more extensive applications in the future With ongoing monitoring and taking forward the project proactively the TD has approved the further expansion of the North Lantau trial while ensuring road safety by
1 extending the trial routes from Airport Island to Tung Chung Town Centre and Sunny Bay covering up to 432 kilometres
2 increasing the number of AVs approved to operate simultaneously from 10 to 20 for the open road passengercarrying trial on Airport Island and from three to eight for the Tung Chung Town Centre trial and
3 during the Airport Island trial in addition to having onboard backup operators remote backup operators at the remote control centre will also operate the AVs with a view to collecting more trial data prior to the orderly achievement of driverless operations ie AVs with remote backup operators only in lieu of invehicle backup operators
The updated routes and details of the pilot licence have been uploaded to the TDs website on AV trials The TDs label for pilot AV shall be displayed on all pilot AVs for identification by other road users
The TD welcomes interested organisations or enterprises to submit applications for a pilot licence for AVs Upon receipt of an application the TD will consider various factors including the design operating range and functions of the autonomous system relevant national or international standardsguidelines and the road test situations based on the Code of Practice for Trial and Pilot Use of Autonomous Vehicles before approval Driving and road safety remain the Governments top priorities The Government will draw on practical experience to refine technical standards share research findings with the industry in a timely manner and implement initiatives to promote AVs in a prudent and orderly process
Related Links
Transport Department issues pilot licence for autonomous vehicle
Transport Department approves route expansion for pilot autonomous vehicles trial in North Lantau with photo
Transport Department approves route expansion for autonomous vehicles pilot licence trials in North Lantau
Transport Department issues pilot licence for autonomous vehicles to approve trial in Southern District
TD issues pilot licence for autonomous vehicles to approve crossdistrict trial in Kowloon East
