No electronic road pricing until Central-Wan Chai bypass is finished, Hong Kong lawmaker urges
Chan Han-pan thinks the scheme should be a last resort to ease traffic in the city’s congested business district
The government should wait until the completion of a bypass in Central before making drivers pay for entering certain of the district’s congested roads, a member of the legislature’s transport panel said.
Chan Han-pan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said traffic jams could possibly be eased after the Central- Wan Chai bypass was completed.
Speaking today on an RTHK talk show, Chan said no new roads had been built on Hong Kong Island for years and that “it would be better to see how much improvements could be made” before commencing the planned electronic road pricing plan.
READ MORE: Hong Kong’s new tax on cars in Central: Will people pay to drive through the city?
The bypass was scheduled to open in 2017, but has been delayed by technical difficulties.
The government on Friday announced a plan to introduce a pricing scheme for drivers entering Central during peak hours as a way to ease the city’s notorious traffic jams. But details such as its pricing mechanism, launch date, geographical boundaries and charges were said to be decided later.
The news came after three failed implementation efforts over the last three decades.
