Plan for personalised car plates challenged
The proposed introduction of personalised number plates would cause confusion among road users, affect charity income, and lead to red faces if risque combinations were inadvertently approved, legislators said yesterday.
They also questioned whether the scheme, which would cost $15 million to set up and $6 million a year to run, would produce the projected annual return of up to $70 million. Under the scheme, vehicle owners will be able to pay for combinations of up to eight letters and numbers on their plates.
At a meeting of the Legco financial affairs panel, independent Albert Cheng King-hon held up a plate with the letters EHYTKNDB for less than a second and challenged government representatives to remember what was on it.
To the surprise of many, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury Martin Glass answered correctly.
But Mr Cheng was not satisfied. 'Of course you remember, because you're a native English speaker,' he said. 'But what about the majority of Hong Kong people who aren't? I think they might have difficulty remembering eight letters or numbers and this might lead to serious traffic problems.'
Liberal Party legislator James Tien Pei-chun asked if a person registering plates with brand names such as Coca-Cola would violate copyright laws. Mr Glass said it would be up to companies to decide on what action to take.
The Alliance's Abraham Razack said the scheme would affect income for the Lotteries Fund, which currently benefits from auctions of plates with desirable letters or numbers such as AAA or 888.
Mr Glass said since revenue from such auctions formed only a small part of the Lotteries Fund's income, the impact of the new scheme would be negligible.
