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Hong Kong to slash crosswalk waits by up to 20 seconds using AI traffic lights
🇭🇰 Hong Kong /Technology

Hong Kong to slash crosswalk waits by up to 20 seconds using AI traffic lights

From Hong Kong Free Press · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Hong Kong will implement an AI-powered traffic light system to reduce pedestrian waiting times by 15 to 20 seconds.
  • The system will debut at a busy Causeway Bay intersection in early 2027 and is planned for about 50 junctions.
  • The Transport Department is also exploring AI for traffic bottleneck identification and an automated vehicle license renewal system.

Hong Kong is set to significantly cut down pedestrian waiting times at crosswalks by deploying an artificial intelligence-powered traffic light system. The Transport Department announced that the new technology aims to reduce waits by 15 to 20 seconds, starting with a trial at a busy junction in Causeway Bay in the first quarter of 2027.

The AI system will analyze real-time vehicle and pedestrian traffic to dynamically adjust signal timings, allocating more green light duration for those on foot. This initiative is part of a broader plan to upgrade traffic management, with the system eventually being rolled out to approximately 50 intersections across the city.

expected to reduce the maximum pedestrian waiting time by 15 to 20 seconds

— Transport Department spokespersonExplaining the expected impact of the AI-powered traffic light system on pedestrian waiting times.

Beyond pedestrian flow, the department is investigating an AI-driven traffic management platform to pinpoint bottlenecks and devise responses to unusual road conditions. Additionally, an AI-powered system for vehicle license renewals is slated for launch by year-end. This system will leverage large language models to automatically recognize and verify application documents, aiming to increase the proportion of online renewals processed automatically to over 90 percent and reduce processing time from one day to near-instantaneous.

The Transport Department is also enhancing cross-border travel facilitation with AI for applications related to the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles and Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles schemes. The goal is to boost the automated approval rate for these permits to over 50 percent, cutting manual processing by about 20 percent. Furthermore, an AI system introduced in late June has already tackled queuing bots for driving license bookings, slashing maximum wait times from two hours to under 45 minutes.

Using advanced large language model AI technology, it will automatically recognise, cross-check and verify application documents for online vehicle licence renewals

— Transport Department statementDescribing the functionality of the new AI-powered system for vehicle license renewals.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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