Hong Kong is set to give electric bicycles and scooters the green light for use on cycle tracks in Tseung Kwan O and Pak Shek Kok this year at the earliest but with a speed limit imposed, the Post has learned.

Electric scooters and hoverboards have gained popularity in recent years despite a ban of their use on carriageways, footpaths and cycle tracks under the Road Traffic Ordinance, with offences punishable by a HK$5,000 fine and three months’ jail.

Ringo Lee Yiu-pui, an adviser on the Transport Department’s electric mobility devices committee, on Sunday told the Post authorities would allow electric scooters and bicycles on cycle tracks in Tseung Kwan O and Pak Shek Kok under a trial programme with strict restrictions. But hoverboards will be excluded as they lack brakes.