The Secretary for Transport insisted yesterday the Government was not trying to revive the controversial electronic road pricing scheme by repackaging it as environmentally friendly.
Nicholas Ng Wing-fui said the scheme, raised by Mr Tung in his Policy Address, was still under review. He added: 'Whether the scheme is for the environment or transport purposes, the public will be consulted before we make any decision and it might take some more time, as the feasibility study is still ongoing.'
The Chief Executive said emission reduction targets would not be reached unless car use was controlled. He envisaged the electronic road pricing scheme as one way forward. In a radio programme yesterday Mr Tung said the toll would be collected on the basis of kilometres travelled by each vehicle.
But a spokesman for the Transport Bureau said the scheme was still being studied and the toll-collecting principle had not been finalised.
Electronic road pricing was first raised in the mid-1980s and revived in 1995 when the Government issued a public consultation paper seeking to curb the growth in car use. But no consensus was reached.
S Hung Wing-tat, director of the Conservancy Association, said the scheme would help relieve air pollution, adding that while the scheme was technically feasible it might meet strong opposition from the public.
