No, many (but not all)) people who can afford to own a car in Hong Kong are pretty well-off. They will not be deterred if prices are increased further to own and drive their car. In fact, it would only make Central a rich-only driving zone and another way for the already rich to flaunt their status. It might bring additional revenue to the HK government, but it would'nt really solve the problem.
A lot of the vehicles on the roads are buses and minibuses (and shared, pre-booked taxis and boxy pre-booked vans) transporting low-income people who live in areas with cheaper housing to and from their workplaces in places with higher-wage jobs and more expensive housing.
In my ideal world, all of the "shadow" plots of land that exist but either haven't been put on the auction block or haven't been wanted by the private real estate cartel and buildings whose octogenarian residents are going to eventually be bought/forced out so that their crumbling 30-year-old-but-look-300-year-old hovels can be knocked down and "redeveloped" would be turned into gleaming new mile-high public housing developments as fast as possible and priority for flats would be given to families based on the proximity of the working family members' places of employment.
People would immediately start changing jobs and, this being HK, folks would find a million and one ways of spoofing workplace addresses (just as they do w/re to catchment areas for public hospitals, schools, elections, etc.) so the effects would gradually diminish, but it would cut down on a lot of unnecessary travel in the near term and give us a bit of a respite.
At the moment I can drive at peak hours taking the shortest and most convenient route from the New Territories to the heart of Central paying just a combined $28 for the two busiest tunnels and then crawl around the streets of Central looking for a 'free' space or perhaps a heavily subsidised meter space.
If the
- CHT Toll was $80 at peak times
- Central Parking meters were $40/15 mins at peak times
it would modify the behaviour of many drivers. Having fewer cars in busy urban areas is a good thing even if it means a Toyota Hiace driver needs to deliver goods between 10AM-3PM.
Do you have some data to back this up?
Certainly a few bus corridors such as Nathan Road and Hennessey Road have a lot of buses but the plans in the late 90's to make them more bus friendly never happened. For example there was talk of making the section of Hennessey Road in CWB bus only and sections of Nathan Road 2 lane bus only. This never happened.
Not the private Bmw/Mercedes/Audi/Lambo/Ferrari drivers that populates Central and Admiralty . Nothing will stop them from driving, they can afford it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p2HodU3kHk
Also, forcing hiace drivers to deliver goods only within certain time out of a total working day will never be accepted in HK, that would be seen as an "unwarranted" restriction on free commerce and the business lobby will never tolerate that. You know the mentality of HK employers.
Last edited by Watercooler; 03-12-2012 at 06:52 PM.
I don't see any on Wyndham, Wellington, Stanley Streets, Hollywood, Queen's, Des Voeux, Chater, Arbuthnot, Ice House Roads where traffic and double parking are chronic problems.
What we need is more double yellow lines and less areas the 7 seaters can wait for their masters.
I agree that expensive parking and tunnels would have a positive effect. Stricter enforcement and heavier penalties for idling and faulty emissions would benefit. In fact most of the suggestions would be helpful. HK needs something like California's Zero emission initiative. There is nowhere to go nor can you go very fast anywhere most of the time so electric vehicles are ideally suited for this place. Why not for public transport companies to go towards zero by 2025 and force car companies to sell a certain percentage of ZEV in a number of years.
However it requires the will to shake the cage a little which the HK government is just about never willing to do... It's easier to fund studies, blame China, deplore high pollution days and use some of the numbers to make them look good with their minimal band aid solutions.