[中環電子道路收費] Summary of Electronic Road Pricing ("ERP") Pilot Scheme

Pros and Cons for Electronic Road Pricing ("ERP") Pilot Scheme and Suggest Alternative Solutions

Background:

ERP is a traffic management tool to tackle localised road traffic congestion. It aims to rationalize traffic flow in targeted areas where severe traffic congestion occurs almost daily. ERP is based on the "user pays" principle, and charges are levied on vehicles using the roads in the charging areas during designated periods. ERP has been successfully implemented in a number of overseas cities, including Singapore in 1998, London (United Kingdom) in 2003 and, more recently, Gothenburg (Sweden) in 2013.

Central and its adjacent areas are the central business district of Hong Kong but have experienced persistent traffic congestion problem. ERP is a suitable solution for Central and its adjacent areas because there are different modes of public transport available for travelling to Central and its adjacent areas from all parts of Hong Kong. The Central - Wan Chai Bypass, when commissioned, will also provide a free-of-charge alternative route for motorists whose origins and destinations are not in Central and its adjacent areas to bypass the charging area.

The government 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. However, details such as its pricing mechanism, launch date, geographical boundaries and charges were said to be decided later.

For:

1. Traffic jams could possibly be eased after the Central - Wan Chai bypass was completed. It would be better to see how much improvements could be made before commencing the planned electronic road pricing plan.

Against:

1. It should be obvious that charging vehicles for using the busiest roads in the District would divert some traffic and hence shift congestion to nearby roads not covered by the ERP. On the other hand, just as fixed penalty against congestion-related offences has failed to deter such offences, an ERP charge is not likely to discourage certain people from literally buying their way in. There is no lack of such people in Hong Kong.
2. As long as the number of cars continues to grow in the territory , it is only a matter of time when the non-charging roads will be clogged up as well.
3. One electronic road pricing principle is “user pays”. However, how many vehicles are actually destined for Central? How can the administration ensure that the “user pays” principle is accurately applied to vehicles entering Central?
4. What type of vehicles should be exempt? The more exempt vehicles there are, the less effective the system is in reducing traffic. Other countries usually only exempt emergency vehicles. Apart from emphasising that fees should be set high enough, the Hong Kong government should also put more thought and analysis into the fee-charging mechanism for different vehicles.

Alternatives:

1. Curb car ownership

Hong Kong should be one of the cities in the world with low car ownership. The territory is small and well served by an efficient public transport network.  Fares for public transport are generally affordable with Government subsidy for “cross-district” commuters. Car parking spaces are limited and sold or rented at a premium.  Above all, the population is concentrated in the urban areas and people’s daily needs are conveniently served by facilities within walking distance.

Compared to ERP, curbing the growth of private cars should be a quicker, more effective and simpler administrative tool to arrest the deteriorating traffic gridlocks. Such an approach would certainly be opposed by aspirants of private car ownership, car dealers and car park operators etc. Like the special measures taken by the Government to curb the demand for private housing, measures to control the surge in the number of private cars is likely to increase the Government’s unpopularity among certain quarters in the community, but the Government should bite the bullet and appeal to the wider community for support in the interest of Hong Kong’s sustainable development.

From the perspective of reducing traffic at source, increasing the cost of first-time vehicle registration and license fees is one option. Governments can also look at optimizing public transport routes and improving reliability.

2. Step up law enforcement and provide more car park space

Law enforcement should be stepped up against illegal parking, which is the main reason for Central’s congestion.

Reference:
http://www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/publication/erp_e.pdf
http://www.erphk.hk/tc/aboutus/index.html
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