As Hong Kong decides on how to deal with traffic gridlock, the boss of London’s congestion charging scheme said any similar system in Hong Kong should not be expected to bring benefits overnight.
Officials are more than halfway through a three-month public consultation on the impact of a pricing scheme to ease Central’s notorious traffic jams.
The government has said it was no longer a matter of whether, but how, to start charging road users.
Paul Cowperthwaite, the general manager for congestion charging at Transport for London (TfL), told the Sunday Morning Post Hong Kong could succeed in changing habits and overcoming road blocks to any such scheme, but should not expect miracles.
“One of the key things for any city: Don’t assume you’ve solved the problem on day one,” he said, adding “what we’ve always done is keep the scheme under review so it’s having an impact.”
He added that congestion charging had “become a part of everyday life in London” that worked.