ANYONE who has sat in a rush-hour traffic jam, whether in his or her own car or in public transport, will agree with the Government when it says that something has to be done about the growing number of vehicles on the road. If not, the city will simply seize up. But is the introduction of a quota system for new cars the answer? For many motorists, the plan, first revealed by this newspaper last September, and confirmed by the Government last week, has an undeniable appeal. At first blush, it looks less sweeping than the alternative of increasing the first registration tax and the annual licence fee. But a quota system would bring very real problems. For a start, the proposal to slash the number of new vehicles owned by first-time car purchasers coming on to the roads each year by almost 6,000 would put such a premium on the proposed certificates of entitlement that the scheme would prove irresistible to speculators.
No matter what safeguards the Government tried to build in, the unscrupulous would find ways to make money at the expense of the genuine end-user. It is the Hong Kong way.
The quota system is also open to charges of elitism. New cars would, in practice, be limited to those able to afford both the certificate and the vehicle itself, which would no doubt increase in cost to reflect the growth of demand over supply. At this stage, the Government is being less than precise about how the quota system will work. But already it seems that it could be an administrative nightmare, with deposits having to be accepted and registered, checks made to ensure each applicant is applying once only, further monitoring to guarantee a car is swiftly licensed against the certificate and then follow-up measures to prevent the car and certificate being put straight back on the market at a mark-up.
But let's give credit where it is due: the Government is showing real determination to get to grips with the traffic problem without resorting to the self-serving and socially unacceptable solutions put forward by the motoring lobby, which clearly believes that Hong Kong should be turned into a network of flyovers and underpasses, with parking underneath.
More and more, it seems that the long-term solution will have to be electronic road pricing, with the motorist paying for the right to use certain roads at certain times of the day. But that is years away, and other measures will be needed before then. But, whichever way it chooses to go, the Government should make a pact with the public that revenue raised will be used to improve roads and public transport.