Private car fleet passes 500,000 mark
Growth in the fleet raises questions about environment and capacity, and sparks a call to look again at electronic road pricing
Hong Kong's private car fleet has passed the 500,000 mark, raising questions about whether curbs are needed - even though the ownership rate is still well below that of other developed cities.
The number could reach almost 540,000 by 2017, the Environment Bureau says.
The prediction brought calls from a green group and an economics professor for fresh consideration of electronic road pricing. But the Automobile Association said there was nothing to worry about.
According to Transport Department data, the number of registered private cars reached 501,021 in March, despite an increase in first registration tax for imported cars in 2011.
Last year, the registered car fleet grew 4.8 per cent, the second-highest rate since 1997. It was also the third consecutive year that the annual rate was more than 4 per cent.
Friends of the Earth director of general affairs Edwin Lau Che-feng said while pollution from private cars was much less than that of diesel buses and trucks, officials should not delay.
"We can start research about what our road capacity is and plan policy measures ahead if required," Lau said, proposing that road charging be considered to discourage car use.