Lower toll for Pearl River Delta mega bridge preferred option at hearing
Most attendees at public hearing on pricing proposals in favour of cheaper option
Most of the representatives from Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai told the Guangdong authority that they preferred a lower toll for a mega bridge connecting the three cities at a public hearing in Zhuhai on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, tourism leaders from the two special administrative regions and nine Guangdong cities forming the Greater Bay Area at the Pearl River Delta pledged for synergy of tourism resources in the area.
Among the 26 representatives who spoke at the tolls’ public hearing, 18 supported the proposal to charge cross-border coaches 200 yuan (US$30.40) per ride via the bridge, while only three were in favour of the other plan, which charges both cross-border coaches and shuttle buses 450 yuan per ride, according Alan Chan Chung-yee, chairman of a major cross-boundary bus service, ChinaLink Express, and one of five Hong Kong representatives.
First traffic to cross Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge in 2018, according to chief secretary
Before the hearing, the economic planning authority of Guangdong put forward two pricing plans, which propose different rates for buses.
Under both plans, however, private vehicles and taxies will be charged 150 yuan, cargo trucks 115 yuan and ordinary trucks 60 yuan per trip between the mainland and the two special administrative regions.
Five of the 26 representatives raised other proposals, Chan said.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Authority said in a statement that some representatives suggested reducing the fare for buses from 450 yuan per ride to 300 yuan, while trucks should be charged at different rates according to their capacities.
