Hong Kong revs up development of autonomous vehicles with new, expanded trials
New trial to be conducted at Cyberport while initiative at West Kowloon arts hub will be expanded to include passengers
Hong Kong is ramping up efforts to develop driverless vehicle services by launching a trial at Cyberport and expanding an initiative at the West Kowloon arts hub following road tests in other areas.
The Transport Department said on Thursday that mainland Chinese tech giant Baidu was also interested in applying to test autonomous vehicles in Kai Tak, in addition to its trials in Northern Lantau and Tung Chung.
The trial at the West Kowloon Cultural District was expected to move forward to road tests with passengers on autonomous minibuses on public roads this year, it added.
The department said earlier that it had approved a trial to be conducted at Cyberport, the digital tech hub in Southern district, involving 10 driverless private cars.
The licensee, Baidu Apollo International, has been running similar tests in northern Lantau and Tung Chung since December 2024 and June this year, respectively.
A spokesman for the department said the tests had been smooth, with the vehicles maintaining a stable performance.