Eligible private cars from Hong Kong and Macao queue to enter Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Photos from WeChat account "大湾区之声"
Hong Kong's transport chief has revealed plans to allow eligible private cars from Guangdong Province that do not have regular quotas to travel to Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) for business, family visits, or sightseeing on a short-term basis, provided that advance bookings have been made.
In a reply to a Legislative Council member last week, Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mabel Chan said that the implementation details of this arrangement would be made public as soon as possible within this year.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong is also working with Guangdong to prepare for the entry of vehicles from Guangdong into the Hong Kong urban area, Chan said.
This move aims to further promote economic and social integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Vehicles line up at the entrance of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
Hong Kong had previously announced plans to implement the quota-based Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles program in two phases, which could start as early as the end of the year.
During the initial phase, vehicles from Guangdong will be permitted to park at the HZMB Hong Kong Port. Passengers may proceed directly to the restricted area of the Hong Kong International Airport and depart by plane without going through immigration clearance. They may also enter Hong Kong via the HZMB Hong Kong Port and then transfer to other modes of transport to reach urban areas. However, vehicles will be prohibited from entering downtown Hong Kong. Vehicles from Guangdong will only be allowed access to urban areas under the second phase of the program.
The southbound program is the reverse reciprocal counterpart of the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles program, which allows eligible private cars from Hong Kong and Macao to enter Guangdong via the HZMB. Since the implementation of the Northbound Travel program in July 2023, more than 100,000 private cars from Hong Kong have entered Guangdong.
The usage of the HZMB has also reached new highs, with its two-way vehicular flow totaling 450,000 vehicles in May 2025. This translates to a daily average of about 15,000 vehicles, an increase of approximately 170% compared to the period before the implementation of the northbound program. Among these, vehicles under the northbound program account for about 40% of the HZMB's vehicular flow — a daily average of around 6,000 vehicles.
In January, Hong Kong's Transport Department announced that the application cap for each working day under the northbound program had been increased from 400 to 500, effective immediately, to address growing demand.
