Opinion | Buying back Western Harbour Tunnel should be Hong Kong’s first step in creating a better transport system

Albert Cheng says the plan to raise toll fees on two crossings while making a token reduction on the privately run third won’t ease congestion.

Taking the western tunnel, MTR and all bus companies into public ownership is the only way forward

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Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan speaks to the media on January 22. The government has rightly shelved its proposal on tunnel toll adjustments after failing to win legislators’ support. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 7:00am, 25 Jan 2019Updated: 7:52am, 25 Jan 2019

The HK$36 billion (US$4.6 billion) Central-Wan Chai Bypass finally opened on Sunday. However, if the unbalanced usage of the three cross-harbour tunnels continues, road congestion will not be relieved any time soon.

The government has come up with a solution – rationalising traffic distribution between the three harbour crossings by adjusting the tolls. Anyone with some common sense could see that the proposal won’t solve anything. Due to strong opposition from legislators, it has been shelved.

Time is money, and most drivers favour the Cross-Harbour Tunnel for two main reasons – convenience and an affordable toll. The tunnel is at a prime location; at comes out at Wan Chai and Hung Hom, both in the central areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon respectively. Yes, a toll reduction at the Western Harbour Tunnel could provide an economic incentive for drivers to switch. However, the reduction has to be big enough to motivate drivers to take a longer and less direct route. Hence, given the extra time cost, unless the western tunnel is toll-free, drivers are unlikely to change their preference.

With its plan, the government was obviously trying to encourage drivers to use the western tunnel and the Eastern Harbour Tunnel, but without effectively easing congestion.

The plan is seen as benefiting the operator of the western tunnel, which is partly owned by China’s Citic Group – a state-owned enterprise – through a subsidiary. Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan revealed that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had gone to Beijing and negotiated with executives from the tunnel’s operator, and won their agreement on the plan only after lengthy talks. That’s beyond absurd; Hong Kong’s transport policies are entirely internal affairs, which the government should handle on its own.

If Lam really wants to ease road congestion in the city, the most effective option is to take all public transport systems into public ownership.