Following is a question by the Hon Chan Pui-leung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, in the Legislative Council today (November 11):

Question:

     At present, a two-pronged policy approach is in place for driving instructors' licences in Hong Kong, comprising both restricted driving instructors' licences (RDI licences) of driving schools and private driving instructors' licences (PDI licences). The Transport Department has announced earlier the issuance of 332 new PDI licences in June this year, for which a total of 55 440 applications have been received, representing an average of one licence issued to every 167 applicants. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of persons holding driving instructors' licences in different vehicle groups, the numbers of those who actually gave driving instruction, and the numbers of persons taking driving tests in the respective groups in each of the past five years, broken down by PDI or RDI licence;

(2) of the respective numbers of such driving instructors' licences that ceased to be valid or were cancelled in different vehicle groups in the past five years, broken down by PDI or RDI licence;

(3) of the progress in the vetting and approval of the aforesaid 55 440 applications for PDI licences as at October 2026; and among them, the respective numbers of persons who took the written test and the road test;

(4) given that under the current mechanism, the authorities will conduct a review on the number of PDI licences biennially and issue new licences only when the number of licences falls below the benchmark by 10 per cent, whether the authorities know the reasons for the number of PDI licences falling below the benchmark;

(5) in view of the exceptionally intense competition for PDI licences in this round of applications, whether the authorities will consider putting in place measures such as shortening the quota review cycle, increasing the number of new licences issued, exploring the establishment of a regular application mechanism or a waiting list system, and raising the proportion of public quota relative to driving instructor quota; and

(6) regarding the current two-pronged approach for the issuance of RDI and PDI licences, whether the authorities have reviewed their proportion and positioning in the market; whether consideration will be given to relaxing the restrictions or broadening the avenues for converting RDI licences to PDI licences; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government has all along been adopting a "two-pronged approach" for driver training. On the one hand, it promotes off-street driver training by establishing designated driving schools (DDSs) to avoid creating burden to public roads. On the other hand, it maintains adequate manpower of private driving instructors (PDIs) for on-street driver training provided that such activities will not aggravate traffic congestion or cause road safety concerns.

     The reply to the question raised by the Member is as follows:

(1) Whether PDI licence holders work as driving instructors (DIs) depends on various factors. According to the current consensus between the Transport Department (TD) and the industry, a PDI who has accompanied a candidate to attend a driving test within the past year is considered an "active PDI". The numbers of valid PDI licences and "active PDIs" in the three groups (i.e. Group 1 (i.e. private cars and light goods vehicles), Group 2 (i.e. public light buses, private light buses, public buses and private buses) and Group 3 (i.e. medium goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and articulated vehicles)) from 2021 to 2025 are set out at Annex 1.

     Separately, as the TD will only issue restricted driving instructors' (RDIs) licences to DIs of DDSs or franchised bus companies (FBCs) based on their actual needs, such licences are valid only when the DIs remain employed by the DDSs or FBCs. Thus, the TD considers that RDIs who hold a valid licence are generally engaged in giving driving instructions. The numbers of RDI licences from 2021 to 2025 are set out at Annex 2. The numbers of tests conducted at Government driving test centres (for candidates trained by PDIs) and DDSs (for candidates trained by RDIs) from 2021 to 2025 are set out at Annex 3.

(2) According to the Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations (Cap. 374B) (Regulations), DI licences may be renewed within three years after their expiry, and those that are not renewed within that period will become permanently invalid. The Regulations also stipulate that DI licences shall be cancelled under certain circumstances, for instance, the DI no longer holds a valid full driving licence to drive any class of motor vehicle for which he/she gives driving instruction, or is convicted of dangerous driving or drink driving. The respective numbers of PDI licences that became permanently invalid due to non-renewal and those that were cancelled from 2021 to 2025 are set out at Annex 4.

     For RDI licences, as the holders may only provide driver training at DDSs or recognised organisations, their licences will cease to be valid when they are no longer employed by the DDS or organisation concerned. The TD does not compile statistics on the employment status of individual RDIs at DDSs or FBCs. No RDI licences were cancelled under the circumstances stipulated in the Regulations from 2021 to 2025.

(3) The TD completed the periodic review on PDI licences last year. A total of 332 new PDI licences were proposed to be issued and the applications were open from May 2026. As the applications exceeded the number of licences to be issued for all groups and quotas, the TD is processing the applications according to the balloted order. As of October 2026, the progress of processing PDIs' test applications is set out at Annex 5.

(4) to (6) A comprehensive review on driver training policy (the comprehensive review) was conducted by the Government in 2020, which confirmed that the "two-pronged approach" concerning DDSs and PDIs should be maintained. With regard to the supply of and demand for driving training services by PDIs, the benchmark for Group 1 PDI licences was raised from the level of 1 050 to 1 170, while the benchmarks for Group 2 and Group 3 PDI licences remained unchanged. The "triggering point" for the Commissioner for Transport to issue new licences, that is, when the number of valid PDI licences of a particular group falls below the benchmark by 10 per cent, was maintained. The decrease in the number of valid PDI licences to a level below the "triggering point" is mainly due to non-renewal of licences by DIs for various personal reasons. The TD does not compile statistics on the reasons for non-renewal of PDI licences.

     In the comprehensive review conducted in 2020, the Government also enhanced the licence issuing mechanism by allocating 75 per cent of newly-issued PDI licences to eligible members of the public for application (Public Quota), and allocating the remaining 25 per cent to the holders of valid PDI licences in other groups as well as serving RDIs and ex-RDIs of DDSs and FBCs for application (DI Quota). The legislative amendments for the enhanced licence issuing mechanism came into force in December 2021. The quota mechanism ensures that new entrants are able to join the industry through the Public Quota (particularly for Group 2 and Group 3 PDIs), thereby fostering competition and enhancing service quality. At the same time, the DI Quota leverages the experience of DIs to provide driver training services across all groups flexibly, ensuring a stable overall supply of service. The TD's record of 2025 showed that the passing rates of candidates trained by instructors licensed under the Public Quota and DI Quota were broadly comparable. This suggests that the performance of the existing driver training services offered under the two types of quotas was similar. As the enhanced PDI licence issuing mechanism has been operating smoothly since its implementation, the TD will keep under review the effectiveness of the licence issuing and quota allocation mechanisms, and will consider appropriate enhancement measures in due course.

Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:37

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