The Transport Department today announced that a pilot licence has been issued, in accordance with the Road Traffic (Autonomous Vehicles) Regulation, giving approval to routes for autonomous vehicle (AV) trials in Southern District.

The applicant has been given approval to conduct trials of 10 AVs at Cyberport. In the first phase of the trial, autonomous private cars will undertake road tests as specific times and on specific sections of the road within the Cyberport campus, including Information Crescent and Cyberport Road.

The applicant has to date conducted AV road tests in North Lantau and Airport Island. The scale of its road tests without passengers has been expanded from a single route to more open roads with more complex traffic scenarios.

Noting that the tests have largely gone smoothly to date and that the performance of the AVs involved has remained stable, the department said that it also gave approval in mid-June for the applicant to conduct road tests in Tung Chung. It added that the additional pilot licence issued this time allows parallel trials to run in different small communities so that useful trial data can be collected.

The department’s AV label shall be displayed on all vehicles involved for identification.

Organisations and enterprises are invited to submit applications for a pilot licence and act in concert to promote the development of autonomous driving in Hong Kong.

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