Hong Kong needs more roads to cope with car growth
Transport economist says the time has come to charge for road use if Hong Kong is going to cope with the increase in vehicle ownership
Private car ownership in Hong Kong is outpacing the expansion of roads and private car mileage has risen above the average vehicle mileage over the past decade, Transport Department figures revealed.
The findings prompted a leading transport economist to renew his call for the introduction of road pricing measures.
Transport Department data showed car ownership per 1,000 people rose to 63.4 cars in 2012, 25 per cent up on 2002 figures.
However, the length of road per person for the same 1,000 people rose by only 1.7 per cent for the same period. The city has about 2,090 kilometres of roads.
Singapore, by comparison, has 3,700 kilometres of roads and 520,000 cars, but two million fewer people than Hong Kong.
In terms of usage, private cars in Hong Kong accounted for 40 per cent - the largest share - of all vehicle mileage. Car mileage rose 9 per cent - 3 per cent more than the average mileage of all vehicles - in the past decade.
On average, each car travelled 31 kilometres a day.