More than 1,000 people applied for test-free driving licences on Monday, with the 300 daily slots filled in about half an hour, after Hong Kong authorities moved the process online to tackle long queues and scalping.
A Post reporter tried to secure a spot at 7am, the exact moment the Transport Department’s online queuing system opened for direct driving licence applications, but was met with a digital bottleneck that saw all available slots snapped up in just over 30 minutes.
Upon joining the queue at 7am, the reporter was placed behind 1,065 other users, with the system initially estimating a 36-minute wait.
But the wait time ballooned to more than an hour even after moving up to No 785 in the queue.
The attempt ended at 7.36am, when the screen refreshed to show that all tickets had been allocated.
The department said the system would process access to application forms in small batches, meaning waiting times might vary among users.
If a user’s position in the queue exceeded the daily quota, they would only be granted entry sequentially if additional slots became available, it added.
