The Eastern Harbour Tunnel operator has not ruled out accepting a toll reduction plan proposed by the government days before its management is due to appear before the Legislative Council to ask for a massive increase.
The management of New Hong Kong Tunnel, which runs the eastern tunnel, will present its case to legislators on Friday to demand a 40 per cent rise in the toll - a move they say is necessary to keep the operation profitable.
But a person close to the company said it would not commit to anything until the government showed its own preference. The company is studying a temporary toll reduction for commercial vehicles - as proposed in a government consultant's report on balancing traffic flows among the three cross-harbour tunnels.
The consultant has urged a system of strategic pricing to spread out traffic. The report recommends the eastern tunnel lower toll fees for cars from HK$25 to HK$20 in exchange for government subsidies.
The Cross-Harbour Tunnel should simultaneously raise tolls to HK$25 from HK$20. This, the government consultant argues, will divert more traffic away from the heavily congested Cross-Harbour Tunnel and give more business to the eastern crossing, making it possible for it to keep profits up without raising tolls.
According to the study released in November, the price adjustment could cut the long queues at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel by 52 per cent - by sending up to 4,300 cars a day to the eastern tunnel, which connects Quarry Bay and Cha Kwo Ling in Kowloon. Those added cars would bring the New Hong Kong Tunnel an extra HK$47 million a year.