Hong Kong doubles its southbound vehicle quota to 200 from 25 July as demand hits three times capacity ahead of the GBA expansion
Hong Kong’s southbound vehicle scheme to cover all Guangdong cities
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Hong Kong’s Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme is on course to reach every city in Guangdong Province by the first quarter of 2027, transport chief Mable Chan confirmed on Saturday, as the government prepares a significant expansion of the programme next month.
From 25 July, the scheme will extend to all nine mainland cities under the Greater Bay Area framework – up from the current four. Five cities are joining the eligible list: Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing, in addition to the existing four of Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Jiangmen and Zhongshan. The daily quota for urban area trips will be doubled from 100 to 200 vehicles, with each vehicle permitted to remain in Hong Kong for up to three days.
A new Park & Visit service will also launch on the same date, allowing drivers to park at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port and continue into the city by public transport.
[See more: Hong Kong Airport to launch ‘Park & Visit’ for Greater Bay Area motorists in July]
Demand for Hong Kong’s southbound vehicle scheme has surged well ahead of the expansion. As of the end of May, around 8,400 applications for urban entry had been approved, with 6,700 travel bookings confirmed. During the Labour Day Golden Week in early May, bookings were oversubscribed by two to three times.
Hong Kong’s southbound vehicle scheme to speed up GBA integration
Some 15,000 motorists have already applied for next month’s allotment, roughly three times the daily quota, with around 60 percent coming from the five newly added cities.
Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Chan said, “Data has shown us that operations have been smooth, and we can see that application numbers for travel during weekends and festive periods have been way more than the quota.” She added that the expansion, alongside the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles counterpart scheme, is designed to accelerate GBA integration and attract mainland tourists with higher spending power.
On traffic violations, Chan confirmed her bureau has recorded sporadic cases involving southbound drivers and has followed up with relevant departments in Guangdong.
