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Shirley Zhao

Drivers in Hong Kong can start using Octopus or credit cards to pay tunnel or highway tolls from later this month, with the time they spend paying expected to be halved.
The measure will provide more toll choices for drivers, who can now pay only through the Autotoll automatic payment system or by handing over cash at tunnel entrances.
Calls renew for lower Eastern Harbour Tunnel tolls after government takeover
According to a Transport Department paper for district councils, the “pay-and-go” measure will be implemented in phases from July 23 to July next year for eight government-run tunnels and highways.
They are the Shing Mun, Aberdeen, Cross-Harbour, Lion Rock and Tseung Kwan O tunnels, the Eastern Harbour Crossing, the Tsing Sha Highway and the Lantau Link.

“The Transport Department will introduce the ‘stop-and-go’ electronic tolling facilities ... to provide one more convenient way to pay tunnel tolls for drivers,” the department said in its paper for district councils.
At the moment, drivers using government-run tunnels can choose to stop at a manual toll booth to pay in cash or with prepaid toll tickets.
Alternatively, they can open a prepaid account with Autotoll. Under this system, drivers pay HK$35 a month to attach a tag to their windshield. Cars with these tags can drive through an Autotoll booth without stopping, as the toll is automatically deducted from a prepaid account.
As of last year, about 46 per cent of drivers used Autotoll. The rest paid at manual toll booths.
Under the new measure, the government will install facilities at all manual toll booths to allow drivers to use Octopus, Visa payWave, MasterCard Contactless or UnionPay QuickPass cards.
The average time required for a vehicle to pass through a manual toll booth is expected to be halved to five seconds, according to the government.

Locky Law, a 35-year-old doctoral degree candidate who drives his daughter to school every day, said many drivers did not like Autotoll because of its monthly charge. He also said the tags did not always work.
He said those using Autotoll might have to queue up longer than those who used manual booths as there were fewer Autotoll lanes.
“Theoretically [the new measure] can enable drivers to pass the toll booths quicker,” Law said.
Adjust Hong Kong harbour tunnel tolls when Central-Wan Chai Bypass opens, top transport adviser says
But he added that using credit cards might not be as quick as using Octopus, and if many people were using cards to pay, a queue might build up.
Law is a representative of Charged Hong Kong, a local electric vehicle group that includes Tesla drivers. He said he was commenting on the toll issue in his personal capacity.
IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok said the government should install automatic toll systems in all its tunnels so drivers could pass through without stopping.
He said the government could collect tolls through systems such as automatic licence plate identification.


Octopus and credit cards to be accepted for Hong Kong tunnel and highway toll charges

The government is hoping to speed up clearance of tunnel or highway toll booths. Photo: Bruce Yan

View of Eastern Harbour Crossing (aka. Eastern Harbour Tunnel), Quarry Bay. 19AUG16 SCMP / Dickson Lee

How scrapping tunnel tolls could free up Hong Kong’s roads

The construction site of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link as seen last May 10. Photo: David Wong

View of Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom. 19AUG16 SCMP / Bruce Yan

This image shows elderly dementia patients having a music class with Tung Wah Group of Hospitals social workers and HKU arts therapists. They listened to songs, sang along, played instruments, danced. They had the mock up class for the media. 14JUN16 [21JUNE2016 HEALTH FEATURES] SCMP / Jeannette WANG

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Government says the move is expected to speed up clearance of toll booths, but one driver thinks credit card users might face problems


Octopus and credit cards to be accepted for Hong Kong tunnel and highway toll charges

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Government says the move is expected to speed up clearance of toll booths, but one driver thinks credit card users might face problems

Government says the move is expected to speed up clearance of toll booths, but one driver thinks credit card users might face problems