The Transportation and Logistics Bureau today (6th) presented the proposed toll plan for the cross-harbour tunnel at the Traffic Affairs Committee. The toll for private cars will be lowered to $60 for the Western Tunnel and raised to $30 for the Red Tunnel and the Eastern Tunnel, namely "633" Program.
In addition, the uniform taxi fare for the three tunnels is 25 yuan.
The authorities hope that the toll adjustment will help divert the traffic volume of the tunnels.
However, many Members mentioned at the meeting that even after the tolls of the CHT and EHC were increased, they were still far lower than the tolls of the WHC, and questioned the effectiveness of the new tolls.
Among them, Liang Xi of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong denounced the government's reliance on "calculation models" and did not conduct public opinion surveys, describing the government as "relying on judgmental estimates."
The government claims that the "633" plan can change citizens' travel habits
Liang Xi of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong pointed out that many citizens have reported that changing the toll charges of the three tunnels is less attractive to drivers and that it is difficult to divert vehicles. Citizens suffer".
Lin Shixiong retorted: "People who drive cars, in fact, besides paying attention to the toll level of the tunnel, they also pay attention to the toll gap between this tunnel and the isolated tunnel. It can be seen that their intention may be changed from Tunnel A to Tunnel A. Tunnel B."
Qiu Guoting, deputy director of the Transport Department, added that any road and transportation development project will be evaluated by a transportation model, which mainly analyzes the population distribution, household income, acceptable commuting time, and property classification, such as residential and office buildings: "It will be determined From the start point to the end point, the family income will know whether they take public transportation, take a car, or use other means of transportation, which can be counted on which route they use.” Qiu Guoding believes that the first stage of “ "633" can change citizens' travel habits.
Liang Xi then asked whether it meant that the authorities had never conducted a public opinion survey on the new fee proposal: "With the model of judgment, our public opinion will be thrown into the trash can?" Qiu Guoding responded: "So we are now consulting everyone opinions."
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Yang Yongjie is worried about the increase in the price of hard food in Kowloon for three tunnels
"A4 Alliance" Yang Yongjie questioned the effect of the "633" plan, worried that after the implementation of the new plan, it would become a three-way tunnel, and the residents of Kowloon Central would have to "hard food" to increase the price.
He believes that the three-tunnel diversion plan is a fare increase plan in disguise, and criticizes the government for taking the lead in raising prices when everything is expensive.
He mentioned that the traffic flow of the three tunnels has reached 120% during peak hours. It is a "false proposition" to divert traffic during peak hours. He suggested adjusting the tolls during non-peak hours. 25 yuan, while the three tunnels are all reduced to 15 yuan during non-peak hours at night.
Chen Shaoxiong urged to put forward the feasible data of the "633" plan
Election Committee member Chen Shaoxiong criticized the "633" plan for "no soup, no water". He was worried that after the fare increase, the travel habits of the citizens would not be changed, and the congestion problem could not be solved, but it caused public resentment.
He pointed out that the government should discuss rationally and present data to show the effect of the "633" plan, emphasizing that members of parliament will not oppose every fare increase.
Lin Shixiong responded that citizens need time to digest the new plan. If the tolls during non-peak hours are adjusted immediately, drivers are worried that it will be difficult for drivers to adapt. He also pointed out that the current traffic flow is returning to normal and has not yet stabilized. Fees, the proposals of Members are of reference value for the second phase of the measures.
Diversion of the three tunnels｜C15+ opposes the government plan to promote the time-separated tolls for the three tunnels to be unified at $15 after 8:00 p.m. Streamline traffic flow by adjusting fares