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Letters | Nothing ‘bold’ about Hong Kong’s electronic tunnel tolls
- Readers write in about the city’s e-toll system, and stamp duty
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I refer to the op-ed, “Bold experiment on tunnel tolls to ease Hong Kong traffic jams deserves credit” (April 9).
I would disagree that the e-toll system is a bold experiment; it is little more than electronic road pricing by another name.
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It is not bold when the number of vehicles using the cross-harbour tunnels has decreased 13 per cent since 2018. Also, as of 2022, the number of licensed private cars is the lowest since 2019.
Introducing the e-toll system when traffic is already smoother and fewer vehicles are on the road is hardly bold. Nor is this an experiment: our road system is similar to others around the world, we know road pricing can work.
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What the e-toll will do is force independent delivery workers off the road and put the joy of driving to work out of the reach of the common folk, as has happened in Singapore and London. Hong Kong is simply playing catch up, e-tolling the less financially advantaged off the road.
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