Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (October 31) announced the implementation details of Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Southbound Travel Scheme).
Under the Southbound Travel Scheme, eligible and approved private cars from Guangdong (Guangdong vehicles) may park (the vehicles do not enter Hong Kong) at the automated carparks on the artificial island at the Hong Kong Port (port carparks) via the Zhuhai Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), after which the drivers and passengers may transfer to a flight via Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) or enter and visit Hong Kong by taking Hong Kong local transportation; or they may enter Hong Kong directly via the HZMB and drive to the urban area without obtaining a regular quota (entry into urban area).
The Guangdong and Hong Kong governments agreed that the “Park & Fly” carpark of the port carparks will be open for application starting from 9am on November 1 this year, and will commence operations starting from 0.00am on November 15; whereas entry into the urban area will be open for application starting from 9am on December 9, and the approved Guangdong vehicles will enter Hong Kong via the HZMB starting from 0:00am on December 23.
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the staunch support of the Central Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government in jointly taking forward and realising the Southbound Travel Scheme. This dual-track arrangement with Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles (Northbound Travel Scheme) will inject greater impetus for the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
“The Southbound Travel Scheme and the Northbound Travel Scheme complement each other and are important measures to promote the integrated development of the GBA. Not only do they facilitate mutual engagement between residents of Guangdong and Hong Kong, but they also achieve a higher level of mutual flow of people and goods and even open up a new model for Mainland residents to visit Hong Kong, which in turn brings opportunities to such sectors as tourism, retail, and catering in Hong Kong. Under the strategies of ensuring safety, effective diversion, well-equipped supporting facilities and streamlined application, the HKSAR Government is taking forward the Southbound Travel Scheme in a steady manner, with a view to benefitting Hong Kong residents and society as a whole, as well as sharing the fruitful achievements of the integrated development of the GBA,” Mr Lee said.
Travellers under the Southbound Travel Scheme are expected to be high-spending individuals and families. The HKSAR Government will provide participants with tourist parking guides, including information on tourism and carparks, with a view to facilitating their itinerary planning, guiding them to combine self-driving and public transportation, spend and stay for a few days in Hong Kong, and choose itineraries relating to culture, sports, exhibition, shopping and theme park according to their preferences, which will in turn considerably contribute to boosting Hong Kong’s economy.
The Guangdong Provincial Government announced today the regulations for the port carparks and entry into the urban area under the Southbound Travel Scheme, including detailed eligibility requirements for applicants, vehicles and drivers, insurance regulations, port clearance and requirements for driving on the roads, procedures, and mechanisms for handling non-compliance. For details, please refer to the official websites of the Guangdong Provincial Government.
To ensure orderly implementation, both parts of the Southbound Travel Scheme will initially be open to applications from four cities in Guangdong Province (namely Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, and Jiangmen), to be gradually extended to other cities in Guangdong Province after six months.
Port carparks
As part of the Southbound Travel Scheme, the automated “Park & Fly” carpark of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) will be officially commissioned, providing a new experience for cross-boundary self-drive travellers who transfer to a flight. The “Park & Fly” carpark will provide 1 800 parking spaces, allowing 24-hour automated parking and drop-off/pick-up services.
The AAHK has launched a one-stop booking platform, allowing eligible applicants from Guangdong to book a parking space for each trip on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants are required to submit information on their designated driver and all accompanying flight transfer passengers, including identification documents and travel documents, vehicle details, scheduled travelling dates, and valid air tickets. They are also required to prepay the relevant parking fees and take out third-party risk insurance policies in advance. The submitted application details will be forwarded to the relevant Mainland authorities for approval and record. Upon completion of processing, the system will confirm the booking with applicants. Each applicant and his/her vehicle may make a booking for one of the following services per day, namely “park and fly”, drop-off or pick-up. To provide convenience to travellers, the HKSAR Government has exempted southbound vehicles using the port carparks from the licensing and vehicle inspection requirements in accordance with the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374).
Starting from November 15, vehicles with a successful booking can travel to and from the “Park & Fly” carpark via the HZMB, according to the booking confirmation notification. “Park and fly” travellers may park their vehicles using the automated parking system. Having their documents and air tickets verified, they will take a bonded bus to the SkyPier Terminal to check in with their baggage, and then proceed directly to the Terminal for boarding without going through Hong Kong immigration clearance in the process. Upon their return to Hong Kong, travellers will only need to confirm their booking at Transfer Desk E2 in the restricted area of ​​Terminal 1 before proceeding to the SkyPier Terminal to take the bonded bus bound for the “Park & Fly” carpark to retrieve their vehicles. As for drop-off or pick-up, designated drivers may, in accordance with the respective booking, drive to the “Park & Fly” carpark to transfer to a flight, or from the “Park & Fly” carpark back to the Mainland, without having to use the automated parking system. All vehicles must enter and exit the carpark according to the designated routes. Signage has been added to the Hong Kong section of the HZMB to guide drivers to and from the “Park & Fly” carpark.
For details regarding the eligibility, methods and procedures, as well as travel guidance for using the “Park & Fly” carpark, please visit the website of the AAHK’s automated carpark online booking platform (autoparking.hkairport.com/).
Entry into urban area
To better control the overall number of vehicles entering Hong Kong and provide a better travel experience, the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments have agreed to set a daily cap on the number of vehicles entering Hong Kong, starting with 100 vehicles per day for a stay of up to three days per Guangdong vehicle.
Interested applicants must first register for a computer-based balloting through Guangdong’s information platform of the Southbound Travel Scheme before formally submitting their applications starting from December 9. Applicants should allow time for completing various relevant procedures in accordance with the requirements of the Mainland and Hong Kong departments, including for designated drivers to hold a valid Hong Kong driving licence, their Guangdong vehicles to be inspected according to Hong Kong regulations to ensure compliance with Hong Kong requirements, and to have obtained valid third-party risk insurance, in order to complete the vehicle licensing application procedures. The validity period of the relevant licences for the Southbound Travel Scheme is up to one year.
Applicants who have completed the above procedures may make bookings through the online travel booking system and, starting from December 23, travel to Hong Kong via the HZMB according to the successfully booked designated dates. If the number of booking registrations exceeds the booking quota, it will be allocated by computer-based balloting.
For details regarding the application and booking for entry into the urban area, please visit the website of Guangdong’s information platform, the Transport Department’s dedicated webpage for the Southbound Travel Scheme (www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/licences_and_permits/southboundtravel/stfgveiua/index.html), and the dedicated webpage jointly developed by the Insurance Authority and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (sbt.hkfi.org.hk/).