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DOI 10.60531/INSIGHTOUT.2024.2.8| LAI: SMART CITY TRANSITION_ INSIGHTOUT 2(2024) 49 Kong was one of the cities that had strict regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic era, enforced the us­age of specific digital services that were only acces­sible by smartphone, and had numerous backlashes against the mandatory usage of digital services. 12 Now that the pandemic era has concluded, discus­sions have arisen on the indirect acceleration of digitalisation in society, but further studies are still needed to quantify the extent of this impact. 13 This paper investigates how smartphone-driven urban digitalisation, particularly in smart mobility, impacts gender demographics. mobility is the first prioritised dimension of smart city development according to the official smart city development guidelines from the Hong Kong government(HKGOV). The official guideline clear­ly states the thirty-one initiatives under four smart mobility subgroups, which aim to promote environ­mentally friendly transportation, provide real-time traffic information, enhance data analytics for traf­fic management, and promote a pedestrian-friend­ly environment. 16 In short, Hong Kong currently sets smart mobility goals to promote active travel and enhance the data collection system. Hong Kong’s development within the current global smart mobility trend Hong Kong can be considered to demonstrate the best practice of transit-oriented development thanks to its well-established heavy rail systems. 14 The unique self-sustaining model“Rail plus Prop­erty” contributes to the low usage cost, thus main­taining the high ridership of the railway system. 15 In addition, the Octopus System, a widely-praised mo­bility-related technology in Hong Kong, also assists the prosperity of public transport development in Hong Kong. Being the first contactless smart card system in the world, the Octopus Card simplifies the ticketing of public transport with its rechargeable contactless stored value features, and over 95 per cent of Hong Kong’s citizens use Octopus Cards for daily travel. 7 Due to the exceptional performance of the public transport system in Hong Kong, smart Hong Kong’s public transport is well recognised, but its smart mobility is lagging behind in comparison. The Urban Mobility Readiness Index pointed out the underperformance of Hong Kong in autonomous transit and shared mobility, which is largely enabled by mobile apps. 17 The Cities in Motion Index, an evaluation system of smart city development that is deemed reliable, 6 highlighted mobility as a slug­gish dimension in Hong Kong. 18 In addition, the IMD Smart City Index acknowledged the deficient per­formance of Hong Kong by confirming the persist­ing traffic congestion issue, which could be better reduced by mobility technologies via mobile apps. 19 This paper will thus deduce the gender differences in the usage of smartphone-based mobility services (SBMS), offering an exploratory insight to enable the next breakthrough in mobility development. 12 J. Ma,“No smartphone, no entry? Isolated by Covid-19 rules, Hong Kong’s elderly dread changes to‘Leave Home Safe’ mobile app”, South China Morning Post, 17 Jul. 2022. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3185531/no-smartpho­ne-no-entry-isolated-covid-19-rules(accessed 12 Apr. 2024). 13 Q. Liu et al.,“Smartphone-Based Services, Perceived Accessibility, and Transport Inequity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross­Lagged Panel Study”, Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment , 97(2021), 102941. 14 B. P. Loo, C. Chen and E. T. Chan,“Rail-Based Transit-Oriented Development: Lessons from New York City and Hong Kong”, Land­scape and Urban Planning , 97/3(2010), 202–212. 15 F. Jauregui-Fung, Land Value Capture and Transit Oriented Development as a Way of Funding Railway Systems: The Case of Hong Kong Rail+ Property Model (Bonn, 2022). 16 Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint 2.0 (Hong Kong, 2020 ). 17 Oliver Wyman Forum, Urban Mobility Readiness Index 2022 (Berkeley, 2023). 18 IESE Business School, Cities in Motion Index 2022 (Madrid, 2022). 19 IMD World Competitiveness Center, IMD Smart City Index 2023 (Lausanne, 2023).