HK's parking meter repaired after 4-hour glitch; gov orders HKT report

The city's roadside parking meter system saw widespread breakdown for four hours this morning. The system returned to normal around noon after repairs.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan says the operator has been asked to submit a report over the incident within 24 hours.

On Kowloon City's Broadcast Drive, parking meters could be seen out of service. Operators scrambled to fix the widespread glitches with emergency repair work. After remotely rebooting the systems, the meters were brought back online around noon.

Similar breakdowns occurred in districts including Wan Chai and Yau Ma Tei as well. The Transport Department first received reports of the malfunction from the operator at around 8:20 am.

This motorist says though such glitches are not common he experienced it two to three months back and called the Transport Department over the malfunction. He says authorities can waive the parking ticket fees in such cases.

This driver meanwhile says the operator should bear the responsibility since they are paid to maintain the services.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan says preliminary investigations indicate the incident doesn't involve cyberattacks. She adds police temporarily suspended issuing parking tickets in affected areas after the department notified the force over the situation.

Operator HKT or Hong Kong Telelecommunications is also urged to submit a full report within 24 hours.

Lawmaker Ben Chan, who chairs LegCo's transport panel, says the incident impacted government income, urging reviews into whether human, mismanagement or external factors are at play. He says as the new round of tender will begin for the meter services, the government should take the latest situation and the operator's remedial action into consideration.