3rd November 2026 – (Hong Kong) Transport and Logistics Bureau secretary Mable Chan said police will not enforce parking at roadside metered bays until the citywide meter system is fully restored, after operators reported a fault early this morning and emergency repairs began.
The Transport Department said it was alerted by the operator at about 8.20am that the parking meter system had malfunctioned. A public notice followed later in the morning confirming that services were disrupted and that urgent repair work was under way. The department said it had directed the contractor to restore operations as quickly as possible, minimise disruption for motorists, investigate the cause thoroughly and submit a report. Drivers with queries were pointed to the service hotline 2332 3700.
Ms Chan said the bureau treated the episode with high priority after receiving an emergency briefing from the Transport Department that Hong Kong Telecommunications, the operator, had reported a territory-wide roadside meter failure. Preliminary inquiries, she said, had not pointed to any malicious interference with the system, though further investigation was continuing. She added that, as far as she knew, some meters had already resumed service while crews pressed on with repairs.
The Transport Department has contacted the Police Force. Ms Chan said that until the system is fully repaired, officers will not enforce parking at roadside metered spaces — a temporary suspension intended to spare drivers tickets while payment and control equipment remain unreliable. Field checks earlier in the morning found a patchy picture across districts: on Cheong Lok Street in Yau Ma Tei roughly half of about ten meters were out of order, while others worked normally, and similar mixed scenes were noted in Wan Chai streets including Hing Wan Street and Stone Nullah Lane, as well as on Kwai Tak Street in Kwai Chung.
The bureau has instructed the Transport Department to require Hong Kong Telecommunications to deliver a written report as soon as possible. Ms Chan said she expected that account to reach the department within the next 24 hours. Officials will then examine the findings in depth, she said, so that similar failures are less likely to recur and inconvenience the public again.
Until full restoration is confirmed, motorists should treat meter displays with caution, use the hotline where needed, and note that roadside metered bays will not attract enforcement while the system remains under repair. The government has framed the pause as a temporary safeguard for drivers while the contractor finishes fixes and the written explanation of what went wrong is lodged with the Transport Department.