The Transport Department confirmed that a software update led to a citywide malfunction of Hong Kong's parking meter system on Tuesday morning. Initial investigations indicated that the software update caused a backend fault, disrupting the connection between the system and parking meters, affecting around 11,000 meters across the city. The department has tasked the operator with a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the outage and has requested a detailed report. At this time, there is no evidence of a system attack, and the department has reported the matter to the Digital Policy Office. The operator has promised to provide full refunds for all meter transactions between 8 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and to process these within the week.
The system was reported to have malfunctioned by the operator at around 8:20 a.m., with payment functions suspended and meter displays not operating normally. Services returned to normal at 12:15 p.m. The department emphasized the importance of a thorough investigation to prevent similar incidents in the future, indicating a proactive approach to address the issue.