HONG KONG – Twenty autonomous buses will be put into use in Shenzhen’s Qianhai area later this month, which will become the city’s largest fleet of autonomous buses.

The vehicles of Shenzhen Bus Group will operate on four routes, covering a wide area of locations including metro stations, commercial districts, residential areas, industrial parks, and tourist spots.

Cutting-edge technology allows the 6-meter-long nine-seat minibuses to accurately identify lane markings and traffic signals and efficiently handle complex urban driving scenarios.

Residents can book rides online after the routes are officially open. The ticket price will be set at 1 yuan ($0.137).

HK health care voucher reaches Zhongshan

Starting July 18, the Elderly Health Care Voucher scheme has been extended to Zhongshan Chen Xinghai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. This will be the fourth service point in mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under a pilot scheme.

Eligible Hong Kong elderly can use their healthcare vouchers to pay for outpatient healthcare services provided by the Zhongshan hospital's designated 13 departments. They must first register via the eHealth mobile app to use the voucher at all GBA facilities.

Launched in 2009, the EHCV Scheme currently offers subsidy to eligible Hong Kong elderly persons aged 65 and above with an annual amount of HK$2,000 to choose private primary healthcare services that best suit their health needs.

GBA property market

Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield will release a report on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area property market on July 23, which will review the region’s performance in the real estate industry in the first half of 2024 and provide an outlook for the second half.

With local governments easing housing policies amid slower economic growth and an industry downturn, the report will enable investors to gain more knowledge about the policy effect and potential trend of the market in the coming future.

Real estate industry in the GBA has especially come under the spotlight with the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link officially opening to traffic last month. The cross-sea mega project, which reduces travel time between the two cities from two hours to about 30 minutes, may cause a change in living and investment decisions among residents in the region, impacting the real estate market.