Hong Kong transport minister vows full review of controversial bus seat belt law

2026-02-16 - 04:48

Hong Kong’s transport authorities will conduct a full review of a controversial seat belt law that has since been repealed following public backlash, the city’s transport minister has said. Bus passengers wearing seatbelts, on January 28, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan told Commercial Radio on Sunday that the government will review the policy – which required passengers to wear seat belts on buses – to ensure a balance between “law, reason and empathy.” “The government will conduct a full review and consult the public to develop a proposal that balances different views before taking it to the Legislative Council,” she said in Cantonese. See also: What to know about Hong Kong’s bus seat belt policy rollercoaster “In the review, we will focus on details related to implementation, exceptions and penalties,” she said, adding that the government has asked bus operators to look into the design of seat belts to ensure safety and convenience. Authorities will commission experts to conduct risk assessments relating to seating arrangements and route types, and propose recommendations. The government will also bolster publicity efforts to strengthen safety awareness among passengers, Chan said. A passenger’s seat on a Citybus vehicle equipped with a seat belt. File photo: Citybus. “We can then develop an optimised proposal, roll it out for public consultation, and solicit feedback from residents,” she said. Policy rollback The short-lived seat belt law was implemented on January 25 and met with complaints about inconvenience and discomfort. The government announced its suspension five days later, with Chan acknowledging “technical deficiencies” in the provision that meant the law did not adequately “reflect its legislative intent,” which was to mandate the wearing of seat belts on all buses. The announcement came after a former lawmaker pointed out that the provision’s wording appeared to cover only buses registered after the law took effect. The law was officially repealed earlier this month. Hours after the official repeal notice was published, Chan said that the government would discuss the law with lawmakers in the Legislative Council as well as conduct a public consultation. Secretary for Transport Mable Chan on December 17, 2025. Photo: GovHK. Under the repealed law, bus passengers who did not wear a seat belt risked a maximum fine of HK$5,000 and up to three months in prison. Also on the Sunday radio programme, Chan discussed the new cross-border travel scheme allowing cars from Guangdong province to drive into Hong Kong. The scheme, implemented in December, allows a maximum of 100 cars from Guangdong to drive to the city daily. She said nearly 100 cars were expected to drive to Chan that Sunday, almost meeting the quota, and that authorities were processing some 500 applications to come to Hong Kong in the following few days. Since the rollout, the cross-border driving scheme has sparked controversy as vehicle and driving rules in Hong Kong differ from those in mainland China. Chan did not say whether drivers who had broken local traffic rules would be blacklisted.