LCQ8: Illegal occupation of metered parking spaces
**************************************************
Question:
There are views pointing out that in recent years, garages and business operators have been suspected of occupying on-street metered parking spaces (metered spaces) in various districts or blocking on-street parking spaces with objects on a long-term basis. On-street metered spaces are limited public road resources. Even if the relevant parking fees have been paid, the prolonged or repeated occupation of the same metered space or the same road section may render time-limited parking a mere formality, thus affecting its normal use by other motorists, nearby residents and business operators. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) when parking fees are paid by Octopus, mobile applications or other electronic means at present, whether the system records the consecutive payment periods of the same parking space, payment tool identifiers, parking space occupancy status, changes in vehicle entry and exit, or other data that can be used to determine whether a parking space has been occupied for prolonged periods or repeatedly; if so, whether the authorities have used such data to analyse and monitor situations of repeated extension of parking time, prolonged occupation or abnormally high-frequency usage in respect of the same parking space or the same road section; if not, of the reasons for that;
(2) of the respective numbers of complaints received, inspections conducted, enforcement actions taken, fixed penalty notices issued and prosecutions instituted by the Police and the Transport Department in respect of non-compliant or improper occupation of on-street metered spaces over the past three years (set out in tabulated form by district);
(3) as the Transport Department has, since July 2, 2026, commenced a six-month trial of new sensors in parking meters at four designated locations, namely Kut Shing Street in Chai Wan, Cheung Ning Street in To Kwa Wan, San Ma Tau Street in To Kwa Wan and Lo Tak Court in Tsuen Wan (the trial), under which the sensors record the occupancy status of metered spaces or occupied objects round the clock, and AI technology is utilised to analyse the categories of the objects, of the criteria for selecting the aforesaid four locations as pilot sites; the respective numbers of cases involving prolonged occupation of metered spaces, unpaid parking, blocking of parking spaces with objects and related complaint/enforcement cases at such locations over the past three years; the specific assessment indicators of the trial, including whether the effectiveness of the new sensors in identifying prolonged occupation of parking spaces, repeated extension of parking time, blocking of parking spaces with objects and other instances of improper occupation will be evaluated; and
(4) as the aforesaid new sensors will not record vehicle registration numbers or facial images, whether the authorities will, on the premise of protecting privacy and achieving cost-effectiveness, consider conducting a comprehensive analysis of the data from the new sensors in conjunction with parking meter payment records, parking space occupancy periods and records of complaints/enforcement actions, with a view to establishing a proactive monitoring and follow-up mechanism, rather than relying mainly on complaints from members of the public; if so, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In response to parking demand, the Government has provided more than 20 000 on-street metered parking spaces (metered spaces) for short-term parking. The Government has all along been striving to combat illegal occupation of metered spaces, and deter evasion of parking fee and other forms of illegal use, with a view to speeding up metered space turnover and meeting motorists' needs for short-term parking.
Having consulted the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the consolidated reply to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) and (2) The new-generation parking meter system, which came into service in 2021, is equipped with sensors to detect the occupancy status of parking spaces in real time. Motorists can search for available metered spaces through the HKeMeter mobile application and the HKeMobility mobile application and webpage, thereby saving the time that vehicles spend driving around in search of metered spaces and reducing the road traffic flow. The sensors serve to detect whether the parking spaces are occupied and do not collect any personal data, information on vehicle models or vehicle registration numbers.
The Transport Department (TD) can also identify occupied metered spaces with fees unpaid via the system, and share the information with the HKPF through a dedicated application to facilitate their enforcement. The parking meter operator (the operator) engaged by the TD also regularly deploys staff to inspect metered spaces in each of the districts across the territory. Such inspections are carried out at least once every four days. When spotting improper occupation of metered spaces, the operator will report the situation to relevant government departments (for example, the HKPF, the Lands Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) for their enforcement actions. Upon receiving public complaints, the TD will also refer the cases to the departments concerned for suitable follow-up actions. Over the past three years (2023 to 2025), the TD referred an average of about 120 000 cases on unlawful or improper occupation of metered spaces to the HKPF each year, and received a total of 111 relevant complaints, including nine cases, 64 cases and 38 cases regarding Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories respectively.
Currently, pursuant to section 8 of the Road Traffic (Parking) Regulations, any person who parks a vehicle in a parking place continuously for more than 24 hours commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 1, i.e. $2,000. The police officers will prosecute in accordance with the law when they find vehicles parked for over 24 hours continuously during patrols. In serious cases, the vehicles can be impounded. For cases involving other forms of illegal occupation of metered spaces, according to section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance, any person who leaves objects without reasonable excuse, such as placing pallets/goods to reserve spaces, thereby causing obstruction, inconvenience, or danger to others or vehicles in a public place, is liable to a fine at level 4, i.e. $25,000, or imprisonment for three months. The numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF in respect of offences related to metered spaces across the territory over the past three years is set out below:
| Year | Numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF |
| 2023 | 259 589 |
| 2024 | 242 550 |
| 2025 | 225 489 |
(3) and (4) With a view to further enhancing parking meter services, since July 2, 2026, the TD has selected four designated locations for the installation of new sensors, including the metered spaces on Kut Shing Street in Chai Wan, Cheung Ning Street in To Kwa Wan, San Ma Tau Street in To Kwa Wan and Lo Tak Court in Tsuen Wan. The new sensors enhance the accuracy of real-time metered space information with AI optical components, enabling motorists to obtain more precise parking space information. Meanwhile, the new sensors can also record the occupancy status or the objects occupying the metered spaces. The backend system can then utilise the collected data for analysing the object types with AI technology, identifying whether the objects occupying the metered spaces are vehicles, so as to facilitate follow-up or enforcement actions by relevant government departments.
The TD finalised the aforesaid sites after taking into consideration a range of factors, including the types of vehicles parked at the sites, the layouts and utilisation of the metered spaces, to ensure the performance of new sensors can be assessed comprehensively under different scenarios. According to past records, the metered spaces at the aforesaid sites registered an average utilisation rate of over 80 per cent, covering locations concerning complaints about illegal occupation.
The numbers of complaints received and fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF in the past three years, in relation to prolonged occupation of metered spaces, parking with unpaid fees and occupation of parking spaces by objects at the aforesaid sites, are set out below:
| Year | Numbers of complaints received by the HKPF regarding the four designated sites (including complaints about prolonged occupation of metered spaces, parking with unpaid fees and occupation of parking spaces by objects) | Numbers of fixed penalty notices issued by the HKPF regarding offences related to metered spaces at the four designated sites |
| 2023 | 126 | 4 836 |
| 2024 | 115 | 5 058 |
| 2025 | 132 | 3 799 |
The TD is conducting an on-site trial to evaluate the operational performance and technical feasibility of the new sensors in actual environment. After the expected completion of on-site trial between late 2026 and early 2027, the TD will review the effectiveness of the trial scheme and consider whether to further take forward the scheme.
Ends/Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:00
Issued at HKT 12:00
NNNN