Mainland Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will apply to test autonomous vehicles in a Hong Kong urban area this year, a government adviser has revealed, with the trial runs potentially being expanded later on to cover more new development areas.
The announcement followed a visit to Didi’s Beijing headquarters last Wednesday by Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan and a group of lawmakers.
Gary Zhang Xinyu, a member of the Transport Department’s working group for promoting autonomous vehicle applications, said on Monday that the company would apply for an autonomous vehicle pilot licence in Hong Kong this year, with initial trial runs planned for Tseung Kwan O.
“Tseung Kwan O itself is large and diverse – the town centre, Lohas Park and the industrial estate all have different road conditions,” he told a radio programme.
“The industrial estate is a more suitable place to start because the roads are wider, the traffic volume is lower, and the overall environment is relatively simple.”
Didi is also recruiting autonomous vehicle test drivers for Tseung Kwan O roles at HK$21,000 to HK$22,000 (US$2,678 to US$2,805) a month, according to a job posting.