The Hong Kong Transport Department (TD) has announced that it has issued a pilot licence for autonomous vehicles (AVs) that will enable the introduction of a brand-new AV trial between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Express Rail Link (XRL) and Kowloon Station of the Airport Express.
The trial will involve four private cars operating in autonomous mode, which will be routed through Wui Man Road, Jordan Road, Nga Cheung Road, Station Perimeter Road South, Station Perimeter Road East and Station Perimeter Road North.
A backup operator will be stationed inside the vehicle for the duration of the trial, and will be able to take control of the vehicle if necessary. The TD’s pilot AV labels must be displayed on all pilot AVs in order to stay easily identifiable by other road users, and all details of this temporary license have been uploaded to the TD’s website on AV trials.
According to a spokesman for the TD, the Government has been promoting the development of AVs in an active manner through a multifaceted approach that seeks to provide policy support, regulatory backing and financial subsidy, with this project expected to demonstrate the safety, stability and operational feasibility of AV technologies within an environment with high passenger flows and complex traffic dynamics. It is hoped, that by operating within such a multimodal transport hub, the project will be capable of establishing an extensible operating mode that will serve as a cornerstone for the integration of the AV fleet into the wider public transport network in future.
Once the AVs commence regular operation, they will establish an autonomous driving connection between both Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the XRL and Kowloon Station of the Airport Express.
