Government Enhances Bus Safety Training with AI and New Technologies, Celebrates Award Winners at Ceremony

Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture

The Government today (September 22) said that it has been enhancing bus captains' training in collaboration with franchised bus operators (FBOs) and keeping pace with the development of innovative technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), adopting a multipronged approach to strengthen bus safety.

Officiating at the Bus Safety Excellence Award Ceremony 2026, the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Vic Yau, said that the Transport Department (TD) has been steering FBOs to facilitate the commissioning of new important infrastructures such as the new Huanggang Port, thereby further enhancing connectivity between Guangdong and Hong Kong, while continuously improving the bus network, safeguarding passenger safety and ensuring service standards are always the objectives of both the Government and the trade.

Mr Yau said that, apart from introducing AI-driven advanced driver assistance systems and driver monitoring systems, the TD and the trade are promoting the tyre pressure monitoring system to be part of standard equipment for newly purchased franchised buses. The testing of the so-called digital cameras (camera monitor systems) is being conducted. The Smart Traffic Fund has also subsidised university research on an autonomous emergency braking system, aiming to assist in safe driving.

As for training, the TD has comprehensively strengthened the requirements of the Practice Note on Training Framework for Franchised Bus Captains, increasing the pre-service course and on-road training hours for newly recruited bus captains. A unified standard operating procedure and a training course framework for newly recruited bus captains have been introduced to assist FBOs in obtaining training accreditation. Measures have been actively rolled out to manage bus captains' fatigue.

The Bus Safety Excellence Award 2026 commended a total of 57 multidisciplinary staff members, comprising 29 bus captains, six driving instructors, 12 inspectors/regulators and 10 engineers/mechanics from five teams. The list of awardees is set out in the Annex. Award-winning bus captains must maintain a clean traffic accident record and have no record of driving offence points. Driving instructors are required to provide effective safety training for bus captains, and inspectors/regulators must maintain effective management of daily fleet operations.

At the Award Ceremony, the Commissioner for Transport, Miss Winnie Tse, presented awards to the engineer/mechanic team category. She was pleased to note that the award entries, namely a smart driving operation risk identification system, an intelligent bus rear-view and blind-spot elimination system, a bus battery compartment fire suppression device and safety devices for hydrogen-fuel-bus maintenance workshops, utilised data, image processing and new energy technologies respectively to ensure driving and maintenance work safety. This has demonstrated the effectiveness of innovative technologies in improving bus safety.

Also officiating at the Award Ceremony were the Chairman of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Transport, Dr Chan Han-pan; the Deputy Chairman of the LegCo Panel on Transport, Mr Yiu Pak-leung; LegCo Member (Transport), Mr Lothair Lam; and the Senior Superintendent of Police (Administration Bureau) (Traffic Branch Headquarters) of the Hong Kong Police Force, Mr Sam Choy. About 200 participants attended the ceremony. They deepened their understanding of bus safety tips, including "staying courteous and alert", "obeying traffic regulations", "keeping a safe distance" and "driving attentively, no speeding", through interactive games.

Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong delegation attends 21st Symposium on Police Studies of the Strait cum Hong Kong and Macao

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Chow Yat-ming, today (September 22) led a Hong Kong delegation to attend the 21st Symposium on Police Studies of the Strait cum Hong Kong and Macao in the Macao Special Administrative Region. Key members of the 27-member delegation included the Director of Immigration, Mr Kwok Joon-fung; the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Management), Mr Chan Joon-sun; the Director of Personnel and Training of the Hong Kong Police Force, Mr Choi Chin-pang; and the Director of the Hong Kong Police College, Ms Cheng Lai-ki.

Organised by the Police Association of China, with the support of the Unitary Police Service of Macao, the two-day Symposium this year carries the theme “Crime Prevention and Control in the Context of High Technology”. About 180 police officers, experts and scholars from the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will present papers and exchange insights on the topic.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Chow said that the Symposium not only served as a platform for academic exchanges, but also offered invaluable opportunities for sharing knowledge about cutting-edge technologies, studying problems and cases, and nurturing collaboration and consensus. He pointed out that in face of the current situation and new challenges, police officers should strengthen their rule-of-law mindset, continuously improve the legal tools for combatting emerging illegal and criminal activities, and at the same time, strive to promote the development of smart policing, deepening the use of big data in law enforcement.

Yesterday (September 21), the Hong Kong delegation met with the representatives of the Police Association of China. They concluded the achievements of past cooperation between the Force and the Association on security matters and explored opportunities for further deepening collaboration.

Mr Chow returned to Hong Kong on the same day.

Hong Kong delegation attends 21st Symposium on Police Studies of the Strait cum Hong Kong and Macao Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong delegation attends 21st Symposium on Police Studies of the Strait cum Hong Kong and Macao Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases