Hong Kong approves fully driverless Airport Island trial

The Transport Department cleared the expansion after reviewing test reports and conducting site inspections.

The Transport Department has approved the expansion of an autonomous vehicle trial in North Lantau, allowing fully driverless testing on Airport Island.

The department previously approved trial routes on Airport Island in February. During that phase, the vehicles were monitored through a remote control centre and had backup drivers on board.

Commissioner for Transport Winnie Tse said the trials had met the department’s requirements for safety, stability, accuracy and operational smoothness.

The department approved the fully driverless phase after examining test reports and conducting multiple inspections of the trial sites. Tse said the authorities were satisfied with the vehicles’ safety performance to date.

All autonomous vehicles participating in the trial must display clear labels to identify them to other road users. Vehicles undergoing fully driverless tests will carry additional labels indicating that no driver is on board.

The department said organisations and companies interested in conducting autonomous vehicle trials may apply for an autonomous vehicle pilot licence.