Self-driving vehicle trials expand to Tung Chung
發佈日期: 2025-05-14 21:58
TVB News
The government plans to expand trials of autonomous vehicles to the urban areas of Tung Chung.
However, some district councillors expressed concerns about safety and potential traffic congestion.
Authorities say no accidents have occured during previous trials.
They expect the autonomous vehicles to begin operation in the coming one to two years.
Next month, three autonomous vehicles will be seen running on this section of road in Tung Chung between 1 to 5 before dawn and again from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The trials will be carried out near residential areas.
The driverless vehicles will have no passengers and travel at speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour.
This Tung Chung resident said she once rode in an autonomous car in Shenzhen, so she is not afraid of them.
This man said driverless vehicles have the potential to malfunction so it is better to gain more data from testings before putting them into use.
Last year, the government allowed ten autonomous vehicles to operate on specified road sections in Chek Lap Kok for testing purpose.
The authorities said no accidents happened during the trial.
However, some district councillors expressed concerns about the safety and stability of the driverless cars.
Tung Chung district councillor Lau Chin-pang, said many construction works are underway in the community where plenty of plastic water barriers are set up.
He believes the Transport Department should closely monitor the trials and deploy backup operators in case the machines veer out of control.
Mable Chan, Secretary for Transport and Logistics said, "there is a lot for us to do. Despite having a robust transport network, we need to make sure the first and the last mile of the journey have good connections. And I do think that autonomous taxis can plug the gap."
She added autonomous vehicles can run from the Science Park and the University station sometime in the future.
