Q Have the government's anti-pollution measures been successful enough?
The government has not come close to solving the problems.
I don't know how anyone can possibly miss one of the biggest polluters in Hong Kong which somehow is never an issue of concern: double-decker buses. On any given day, one can count as many as a dozen spanning two city blocks. I realise the deregulation and privatisation of bus operations have meant that bus service intervals are now reduced, and I've heard that a passenger should not have to wait for more than 10 minutes for a bus to arrive.
But can Hong Kong's antiquated and underdeveloped road systems accommodate this? What about the largely empty buses we see?
Despite supposedly prohibitive import tariffs on private cars, their numbers have increased significantly in recent years. One can see more and more cars with only one person which, along with the double-deckers, are making the antiquated road systems on the south side of the island clogged with traffic every day.
Since 1997, city planning has somehow been relegated to the proverbial backseat. Thirty, 40, even 50-storey apartment buildings are the order of the day. This, combined with continued overdevelopment in the financial districts, is surely another main cause of pollution.