Getting around with a disability or limited mobility

Can I use the MTR without stairs?#

A written reply of 30 November 2022 said every MTR station had at least one barrier-free access, but not every exit is step-free. It named lifts, ramps, wheelchair lifts and wheelchair aids as the kinds of access linking the concourse and ground level. The same reply said that of nearly 600 entrances and exits at the 99 heavy rail stations, about 12 per cent (about 70) have only stairs to the concourse.

MTR's barrier-free search page lets you search by station or by category and gives the MTR Hotline, (852) 2881 8888, for enquiries.

What does the MTR provide for wheelchair users and for prams?#

The Transport Department's guide (2025 edition) says MTR has wide gates at all stations, so wheelchair users and people with prams or baggage can pass without staff help. It also lists portable ramps at all stations except Light Rail stops, and multi-purpose spaces on all trains. Accessible toilets are at many stations, in the unpaid area, the paid area or a non-public area where you contact staff; not every station has one.

MTR says powered wheelchairs can be charged at sockets at 10 stations, and charging stops after 15 minutes. On 27 October 2026 MTR marked two of them, Kowloon Bay and Sham Shui Po, unavailable for upgrade work.

How do I get help at an MTR station, or check that a lift is working?#

MTR's MTR · Care App, made for older people and customers with special needs, shows barrier-free facilities with real-time lift maintenance status. Registered users can book a wheelchair portable ramp in advance. After staff confirm, you go to the designated place at the booked time and tell staff through the app.

On 27 October 2026 MTR's lift works page listed two stations: Disneyland Resort (from 27 July 2026) and Yau Tong (from 22 June 2026), both due to finish in the first quarter of 2027. MTR says to contact station staff for help.

Is there a fare concession for older people and people with disabilities?#

Yes, for eligible Hong Kong residents, but since 3 April 2026 it is no longer a flat HK$2. An adult fare of HK$10 or less costs HK$2; a higher fare costs 20 per cent of the adult fare, rounded to the nearest 10 cents. The Transport Department says it covers Hong Kong residents aged 60 or above, who use a JoyYou Card. Under 60, it covers CSSA recipients with 100 per cent disability and Disability Allowance recipients, who use a Personalised Octopus marked "Persons with Disabilities Status". Cash is not eligible.

The Transport Department page gives 1823 for enquiries. Octopus cards are on the Octopus page.

Are there priority seats, and can I bring a guide dog?#

Yes to both, with limits. A Government reply of 14 December 2022 said every MTR train compartment has priority seats, about 10 per cent of the seats in each car, except the First Class compartments of East Rail Line trains, the Airport Express and the Disneyland Resort Line. Franchised buses have them nearest the exit, and each tram has two. The Government does not plan a mandatory number.

The Transport Department's Road Users' Code says a guide dog can accompany a visually impaired person on board; it introduces public transport as buses, public light buses, taxis, railways and tramways. It does not mention ferries.

Are franchised buses wheelchair accessible?#

Almost all are. The Transport Department's guide says 5,843 buses, or 99 per cent of the franchised fleet, are wheelchair accessible, with fixed ramps and one or two wheelchair spaces. The operators are Citybus, KMB, Long Win and New Lantao Bus. Buses also have priority seats, next-stop announcements and displays, and a braille plate.

At interchanges, Light Rail platforms and some stops, a wheelchair user may wait at the head of the queue, marked by a yellow international symbol of accessibility. On board, the wheelchair is parked and locked in the reserved space.

Can I use a minibus in a wheelchair?#

Only on a few routes. The Transport Department's guide says passengers with visual or hearing impairment or moderate walking difficulty can use minibuses, but steps normally exist. As at February 2025, low-floor service ran on five green minibus routes, four of them marked wheelchair-accessible. The operators take telephone reservations for the wheelchair space, and passengers may call the operator hotlines before using the service.

The Government encourages minibus operators to designate priority seats near the entrance or exit.

Can I take a tram?#

The Transport Department describes wheelchair access on trams as a practical challenge. Its guide says the narrow platform and compartment, and the height differences at boarding, make it a practical challenge to accommodate wheelchair passengers.

Passengers with visual impairment and minor walking difficulty can board by the front door with the driver's help instead of the rear door or turnstile. Priority seats are inside the compartments, and the Government's 2022 reply said each tram has two.

Can I use ferries and piers in a wheelchair?#

Often, with exceptions. The Transport Department's guide says lifts and ramps are provided at most piers, designated wheelchair spaces are on most vessels, and the lower deck is more accessible than the upper deck because there are no steps. Ferries berthing alongside pontoons and public piers are an exception.

Sun Ferry lists wheelchair spaces on the lower deck only, for example 3 on each triple-deck ship and 1 on each First Ferry vessel, and asks wheelchair users to call its hotline, 2131 8181, in advance about boarding and landing.

Can I take a taxi in a wheelchair?#

Taxis carry wheelchairs and crutches free, and some taxis are wheelchair accessible. The Transport Department says no extra charge is made for them. A Government reply of 27 March 2024 said 4,697 of 18,163 taxis (25.9 per cent) were wheelchair accessible at the end of February 2024.

No Transport Department page opened says how to book one. Its taxi page lists five fleets (Amigo, Big Bee Taxi, Big Boss Taxi, Joie and SynCab) and mentions wheelchair-accessible facilities only in driver training.

Can a taxi pick me up or drop me off in a no-stopping zone?#

Sometimes, at police discretion. Picking up or setting down in a restricted zone is an offence for the driver. The Police may allow it for a passenger with a specified disability (a wheelchair user, walking-aid user, someone totally blind or with severely low vision, or someone certified as having mobility problems) who gives the driver a completed certificate as evidence of the journey.

It covers taxis, private cars, private light buses and private buses where no hazard or major disruption is caused, and not expressways or 24-hour restricted zones. Drivers may not wait or park. Apply through a contact organisation; the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (2864 2929) coordinates.

What is Rehabus and who can use it?#

Rehabus is special transport for people with disabilities who have difficulty using public transport. The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation and Kwoon Chung run it. The Society's terms say users must hold a Hong Kong identity card (not one obtained through an expired permission to remain; Hong Kong residents under 11 with disabilities qualify) and register first with proof of disability.

Dial-a-Ride runs 365 days a year: book through the Rehabus ICOMS website or app, or call 2824 6500 in office hours. All the Society's services stop under Typhoon Signal No. 8 or higher or a Black Rainstorm Warning. Both pages limit it to identity card holders; neither mentions visitors.

Does Rehabus run fixed routes?#

Yes, in two forms. The Society's Scheduled Route Service runs on weekday peaks, 6:30 to 10:00 am and 3:00 to 7:00 pm Monday to Saturday, plus 12 noon to 2:00 pm on Saturday, except public holidays, to workplaces, schools, training centres and medical institutions. Kwoon Chung's Feeder Service needs no booking: wait at a designated stop, where wheelchair users and one escort each have priority.

Its Weekend Recreational Service takes bookings from 2 months to 7 working days before the date (hotline 2979 8777). Kwoon Chung lists a HK$2 promotional fare until 31 May 2027.

How do I reach the border or the high-speed rail station with limited mobility?#

The Transport Department's guide (information as of the end of December 2024) says people with disabilities can use barrier-free franchised buses and cross-boundary shuttle buses to the road crossings, MTR East Rail to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, and the high-speed rail at West Kowloon. They can book wheelchair-accessible taxis and Rehabus Dial-a-ride for five crossings.

For the high-speed rail, MTR asks you to reserve help through (852) 2120 0888 one day before the journey; staff cannot give personal care or carry baggage. Crossing hours are on the cross-border page.

Where can I find an accessible toilet?#

There is no single official list. In April 2025 the Government said it does not maintain a consolidated list of public toilets and accessible toilets. It gave FEHD 812 public toilets, 402 with accessible toilets, and AFCD 64, with 54. LCSD has about 1,100 toilets in its venues, the vast majority with accessible toilets, but are unavailable when the venue is under repair or maintenance.

FEHD's barrier-free page links a list of accessible unisex toilets, but that page showed only its heading when opened. AFCD offers a location map of accessible toilets in country parks. MTR station toilets are in the Transport Department's guide: see the MTR section above.

Are there lifts on footbridges?#

Some. In May 2025 the Government said the Highways Department maintains 731 footbridges, 280 of them with lifts. It said that of the rest, about 70 per cent already meet barrier-free standards, for example with ramps or at-grade alternative crossings, and about 15 per cent are confirmed unsuitable for retrofitting. At the end of March 2025, 239 of 382 Universal Accessibility Programme items were complete, and lifts were to be added at 64 more footbridges over the next four years.

The reply does not say how the public can find lift locations or check whether a lift is working.

Are leisure venues and sports centres accessible?#

LCSD says venues built after 2008 meet its Barrier Free Access design manual of 2008, and older venues have been upgraded where geography, architecture and technology allow, for example with accessible toilets, tactile guide paths and braille maps. It says barrier-free access is provided at all major sports facilities, and staff will make every effort to help people with disabilities in and out of a pool.

Venue pages give detail: Hong Kong City Hall lists 8 wheelchair spaces in its Concert Hall and 5 in its Theatre, and an Access Officer to contact.

Are country park trails step-free?#

AFCD does not say so. Its page names four accessible routes (Shing Mun, Tai Tam, Aberdeen and Tai Lam) and calls them only "accessible"; it does not say whether they are step-free.

For Shing Mun (5.6 km) the hiking.gov.hk page gives slopes of about 1:8 to 1:6, an accessible toilet, and a socket for charging electric wheelchairs (call AFCD staff on 2427 2670 in office hours). It says the Shing Mun Road footpath is narrow with some obstacles, and advises wheelchair users to take an accessible taxi or Rehabus to the Pineapple Dam minibus station. Tai Tam (3.1 km) is described as a flat forest road with an accessible toilet.

What helps visually impaired passengers?#

The Transport Department's guide says MTR has tactile guide paths at all stations and Light Rail stops, escalator audible signals at all stations, and an audible device in the gate reached by the tactile path (a "please enter" message at entry, the fare and remaining value at exit). Tactile station layout maps are on most lines; braille plates are on ticket machines and, in certain stations, on lifts and accessible toilets.

Franchised buses announce and display the next stop. Taxis carry a braille and tactile registration plate on the rear left door.

What helps deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers, and how can I reach the Government?#

The Transport Department's guide lists induction loops and information cards at MTR Customer Service Centres, display systems at entrances, concourses and platforms, and in-train panels or screens showing the next station. MTR's Care App has a non-emergency help function for hearing-impaired customers (registered users).

1823 also takes SMS (text only) on 6163 1823 and fax on 2760 1823; its page does not say who they are for. The Digital Policy Office lists six organisations that provide sign language interpretation. Hospital sign language interpretation is covered in the health guide.

What accessibility data does Neihou map?#

Neihou's map detail for MTR stations shows the facility types MTR flags for 97 stations, from an open-data snapshot retrieved on 14 October 2026; it gives no counts and no lift status. Sources differ on one item: MTR's page lists powered-wheelchair sockets at 10 stations, while the snapshot flags one (Kowloon Tong). Use MTR's page.

Neihou's data also holds LCSD barrier-free wording for 60 venues, an accessible-toilet flag on 386 FEHD toilets, and six trail pages with "accessible" or "wheelchair" in the official name. None of it shows a step-free route, and the AFCD toilet data has no accessibility field.

What could we not confirm?#

No official page read guarantees a step-free journey on a given route at a given time. Not confirmed: Hong Kong Tourism Board accessible-travel advice and the Peak Tram's page (blocked); KMB and Citybus accessibility pages (unreadable); and how to book a wheelchair-accessible taxi.

The Airport Authority's undated mobility page says complimentary wheelchair service can be arranged through your airline, its handling agent or a travel agent; for charged service call ALLWAYS, 24 hours, +852 2275 0000.

On piers, HKKF's pages state nothing, and Star Ferry lists "Accessible Access" at three piers without detail. An undated, older MTR booklet advises calling the entry station before a journey needing the portable ramp.