Editorial | Cautious route best for Hong Kong’s self-driving cars
Hong Kong aims to shift up a gear with trial runs for vehicles on more testing roads, but public safety must remain a priority
Autonomous driving still has more doubters than backers in Hong Kong, but the city is now taking steps that could get more people on board with the technology. Trial runs set for the next five months are worth supporting to develop driverless services.
After allowing passenger trials on routes within the airport island, the government plans to allow tests on more complex roads, including at Cyberport in Southern district and Tung Chung. Vehicle speeds will also be raised to 50km/h (30mph).
The trial runs only became possible in March under a new regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles. By late last year, two pilot licences had been issued so a dozen cars operated by Baidu Apollo Go could be tested.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said official introduction of passenger services and commercial applications such as ride-hailing could happen in the next couple of years.
Chan told lawmakers “significant” progress had paved the way for “several technological leaps”, with the testing scale expanded from a single private car to 10 vehicles operating simultaneously. Some have grown impatient with Hong Kong lagging behind the rest of China.
Ride-hailing services using autonomous vehicles are prevalent in some areas of the mainland.