Toll for Western Harbour Tunnel is increased to $37

The management of the Western Harbour Tunnel was yesterday criticised for pushing up tolls to $37 a crossing from Sunday, despite warnings it will drive even more motorists to use other, busier tunnels.

The tunnel company says it is raising its tolls to cover losses. About 42,000 vehicles a day use the tunnel, compared to 122,000 in the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (private car toll $20) and 75,000 in the Eastern Harbour Tunnel (toll $15).

From Sunday, the tolls in the Western Harbour Tunnel will rise from $35 to $37 for private cars, from $45 to $47 for public or private light buses, from $50 to $60 for single-decker buses, and from $70 to $85 for double-deckers.

On July 31, the tunnel company announced an increase in tolls, but did not pass on the rise to tunnel users, saying that by keeping fees at the old levels they were offering concessionary fees for all types of vehicles. The company was responding to appeals from transport officials to consider the public interest.

After this weekend's rise, the concessionary tolls for vehicles such as taxis and goods vehicles remain. In a submission to the Legislative Council's transport panel, transport officials said they had repeatedly urged the tunnel company to defer toll rises, reminding the management of the need take into account people's ability to pay.

The company's finance materials manager, Patrick Ho Kwok-hung, told legislators yesterday that it decided to go ahead with the increases because the company had accumulated losses of $560 million since opening in 1997 and loans of $6.2 billion. Despite, this Legislator Albert Ho Chun-yan criticised the tunnel company for sending a bad signal during the downturn.