The discontent over surcharges imposed by cargo handlers at Kwai Chung Container Terminal may come to a head again after Easter amid renewed pressure to replace a coupon system described as 'a farce'. There is talk within the transport trade that the mid-stream operators - firms that load and unload containers by barge to and from ships - will have to review the pre-paid coupon system introduced after truck drivers blockaded the terminal in protest at a $40 surcharge. Under the coupon system, which came into effect in early March, the surcharge is paid in tokens sold by the mid-stream companies to shippers in advance. Shippers then give the tokens to transport firms which will in turn, present them to the mid-stream operators when they pick up and drop off cargo. However, transport firms can still enter the yards without coupons as long as drivers give the shippers' name for later payment. The Joint Committee on China-Hong Kong Transport Trade, which laid siege to the mid-stream operators' yards three times in the space of four months to protest against the charge, said the coupon system had been a complete farce. 'Very few shippers have actually purchased the tokens for us to take to the mid-stream operators,' spokesman Ricky Wong Kay said. He said the transport trade had no idea what the mid-stream operators intended to do after Easter, and had therefore not considered its next move. The Hong Kong Mid-stream Operators Association admitted the coupon system had not been a success as shippers and drivers were unco-operative. 'However, we hope the situation will improve when we launch our new electronic payment system next week,' executive member William Chan Wellam said. Mr Chan said it might be another few weeks before the operators conducted a review and decided if allowing drivers to enter without coupons would be allowed to continue.