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LettersHere’s a way out of Hong Kong’s rush hour chaos: work from home
- More taxi licences and tunnel toll revamps are a solution, but it would be even better if we could rethink our rigid working practices
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I am writing in response to Philip Bowring’s March 31 article regarding the messy traffic situation in the city (“Hong Kong’s rich love their cars. No wonder transport policies are a mess”).
It is par for the course for us ordinary Hongkongers to jostle for space on public transport during rush hours, especially if we have to change lines on the MTR. Mr Bowring claims it is the government which should bear the blame, as it is reluctant to impose policies to benefit the general public for fear of damaging the vested benefits of certain groups.
As a blue-collar worker who has to commute to the New Territories from Hong Kong Island daily for work, I have first-hand experience of the severe traffic jams on the roads and the lack of seats in MTR carriages. I appreciate Mr Bowring’s suggestions – toll adjustments, the introduction of more taxis, reducing our reliance on the MTR and so on – but if the main cause of overcrowding, that is, the necessity to go to work during rush hours, still exists, the traffic volume is unlikely to dwindle.
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While increased tolls might seem like nothing to the affluent, they may pose a more serious burden to freelance truck drivers who usually come from a grass roots background.
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I think in this era of technology, flexibility should be introduced in terms of work hours and the nature of work. Why must we work from 9 to 5 and why must we physically stay at the office on standby? Some kinds of work, such as security, do require a physical presence but workers in other sectors – in fields like design, investment or education – can make good use of the convenience of information-sharing platforms to deliver the same quality of work outside office hours. The rigidity of our working habits has to be reformed.
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