Democrats, DAB to challenge higher parking, tunnel charges

The Democratic Party is ready to join forces with the DAB to put a brake on government plans to increase parking meter and cross-harbour tunnel fees.

Officials said the total defeat of the bill would mean a loss of $1.6 billion in revenue. The Democratic Party and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong have submitted amendments to the Revenue Bill which will resume its second reading on Wednesday.

The bill suggests increases in parking meter charges from $2 per 15 minutes to a maximum of $4.

Andrew Cheng Kar-foo of the Democratic Party wants to cut the increase to $3 and the DAB's Chan Kam-lam wants to freeze it.

The amendments would cut extra revenue by $100 million and $190 million respectively, the bureau said.

The Government is also proposing to raise the Cross-Harbour Tunnel toll for cars from $10 to $20 and $4 to $8 for motorcycles.