THE Government is proposing a series of measures to tackle the problem of traffic congestion including: a new tax system imposed on private cars; and the introduction of the controversial Electronic Road Pricing System.
The aim is to reduce the number of road users and also private car owners.
However, the above measures are not effective in solving the problem. The ultimate cause of traffic congestion is the absence of a good public transport system.
The extension of bus lanes all over Hong Kong is one means of solving the problem. It would certainly reduce the time spent travelling by public transport, people would find using a car more time-consuming than taking a bus.
Private cars transporting the same numbers as a bus use up considerably more road space. This is the main cause of traffic congestion. So there are many advantages of introducing more bus lanes.
They provide a more efficient use of the roads to ensure that travelling time is saved. They also enable an improvement in bus services, especially concerning scheduling because the times to complete routes can be better estimated.
