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Commercial signboards in MTR stations should be phased out  after a survey found that the energy consumed by these light boxes in one night is enough to light up three-quarters of Tseung Kwan O, a green group said yesterday.
Green Sense, in the survey conducted in July, counted  48,782 fluorescent  tubes used in  6,833 advertising signboards at 51 MTR stations, excluding the Airport and Asia-Expo stations.
The power generated was good for six hours of lighting for 76,000 families every night, assuming each household used only two light tubes, said Sun Wai-fung, organising secretary of the group.
The 29 Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation stations, not including Lok Ma Chau and Lo Wu, used 16,406 light tubes in 2,399 commercial signboards, according to Green Sense.
A 3.6-metre-wide poster uses eight to 12 light tubes, while a 1.2-metre one uses four tubes.
The light boxes are switched on 19 hours every day from 6am to 1am the following day.
Not only  are big commercials  growing in number, but more and more posters along escalators are  becoming lighted signboards, the group said.
'In Beijing, you don't find that much light on their advertisements,' Mr Sun said.
The group members also said that more lights were used on commercials than on the brightness of the stations in eight out of the 10 stations where they also inspected the lighting system.
In Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, the number of light tubes in signboards is double that  used in lighting.
Mr Sun said  the MTR Corporation should consider  moving commercials from light boxes to the platform screen doors - where posters could be lit by the doors' lighting system.
The MTR  Corp said it welcomed the group's suggestions, but stressed that it had already adopted a number of measures to cut down electricity consumption.
Energy-saving lights are now in use for both train cabins and signboards, and some escalators are also switched off during off-peak hours.
According to the  MTR Corp's interim financial report, advertising revenue grew by 8.6 per cent to HK$239 million for the first six months this year over the same period last year.
Lights on
More posters along escalators in the stations are becoming illuminated signboards
The number of hours a day the advertising signboards are switched on  19



MTR signs a waste of energy, says green group