Baidu plans to offer free autonomous-car rides in Tung Chung from 21 October to 3 November, with trips scheduled each afternoon from 2pm to 6pm. A total of 540 tickets are due to be distributed on 16 October; each admits two people and specifies a time slot.
Tickets are to be available from the Islands District Office in Central, Islands District community advisory centres in Tung Chung, Cheung Chau and Mui Wo, and Discovery Bay Community Hall. i-CABLE, citing an Islands District Council document, says Tung Chung residents are the intended riders. HK01’s headline listed 20 October as the start date, although its article body gave 21 October.
The roughly 5.1-kilometre journey starts at Yat Tung Estate Car Park No. 1, follows Yu Tung Road and Yi Tung Road to a Sheraton hotel in Tung Chung, then returns along the same route. The announced journey time is about 15 minutes.
A backup operator will be on board and can take control if needed. i-CABLE also reported a button by passengers’ feet to open the door in an emergency.
During a media ride, a Ming Pao reporter said the car continued towards a roughly one-metre-wide banner on the road and moved left to avoid it when the car was about one car space from the banner. The reporter felt a sharp turn. The ride took nearly 20 minutes, compared with the announced estimate of about 15; the car also followed single-lane instructions at roadworks and waited before entering a roundabout.
Passengers must be at least eight years old and 1.35 metres tall, and sit in the rear. The car cannot stop for people to get off along the route. HK01 reported that wheelchair users are not allowed to take part in this test phase.