Autonomous vehicles in Hong Kong. (PHOTO / TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT, HKSAR GOVT)

HONG KONG – The Transport Department of Hong Kong on Friday published in the gazette a code to provide comprehensive guidance to the industry in technical, safety, and operational aspects to facilitate the trial and pilot use of autonomous vehicles.

The gazette notification came with the commencement of the Road Transport (Amendment) (Autonomous Vehicles) Ordinance 2023 and the Road Traffic (Autonomous Vehicles) Regulation the same day.

The Code of Practice for Trial and Pilot Use of Autonomous Vehicles sets out detailed technical and operational requirements in relation to autonomous vehicles to ensure that applicants and holders of pilot licenses and AV certificates conduct trial and pilot use of AVs safely, the department said in a statement.

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The major contents of the code include general requirements of trial and pilot use of AVs, backup operator's requirements, vehicle requirements, and infrastructure requirements.

The new regulatory regime gives flexibility for research into, testing and evaluation of AVs, thereby paving the way for wider use of AVs in Hong Kong in the future.

Transport Department, HKSAR

With a view to embracing the evolving AV technologies and accommodating the emergence of AVs as a new mode of transportation, at the same time ensuring public safety, a new regulatory regime has been brought up-to-date to allow wider and more flexible trial of AVs on Hong Kong roads, said the Transport Department.

To plan for the development of AV technology in Hong Kong, the government released the "Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint" in December 2017, which set out one of the Smart Mobility initiatives being the facilitation of AV trial. The vision of materializing AV trial on public roads was further set out in the Smart Mobility Roadmap for Hong Kong published by the Transport Department later in July 2019.

Since 2017, the department has been issuing movement permits in accordance with the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations to authorize each AV trial while customized conditions are individually imposed on a case-by-case basis. 

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The legislative amendments of the "Road Traffic (Amendment) (Autonomous Vehicles) Ordinance 2023" were completed and a new subsidiary legislation "Road Traffic (AVs) Regulations" was made in May 2023 and January 2024 respectively.

This undated photo shows an autonomous vehicle that is under trial in Hong Kong. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The code will be updated as necessary with a view to keeping abreast of the evolving AV technology and the latest international standards while flexibly coping with the developments of the industry with proper risk control, said the department.

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“The new regulatory regime gives flexibility for research into, testing and evaluation of AVs, thereby paving the way for wider use of AVs in Hong Kong in the future,” it said. 

For example, to allow the trial and pilot use of the autonomous transport system "Airportcity Link" of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, the system will connect the airport island and the Hong Kong Port Artificial Island to provide passenger services, and will be extended to Tung Chung city center in the future.