“But there has been an obvious impact on taxis. For example, from midnight until 5am, there has been a 50 per cent increase in taxis using the Western Harbour Tunnel.”
Lam added that he believed traffic levels at the three tunnels would show clear signs of improvement once the government later in the year rolled out tolls adjusted according to the time of day.
“We cannot expect drivers to change their travelling patterns in just one or two days,” he said.
A Transport Department spokesman said that from 7am to 10am, 44,000 vehicle trips were recorded at the three tunnels, similar to figures before the toll changes, with vehicle flow increasing 3 per cent at the Western crossing, and falling 4 per cent and 1 per cent at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Tunnel respectively.
“In the early hours and morning peak hours, the number of taxis using the Western tunnel increased by 50 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. The diversion effect was clear,” the spokesman said.
“Based on our observation, there was an increasing number of taxis paying tolls with cash at the Western tunnel, resulting in some toll roads getting busier than usual.”
The spokesman said following the implementation of an electronic toll system at the Western tunnel on Sunday, traffic at the crossing would be smoother.
Under the first phase of the two-stage arrangement, tolls for private cars using the Western Harbour Tunnel have been cut from HK$75 (US$9.60) to HK$60, while charges for the Eastern Harbour Tunnel and Cross-Harbour Tunnel have increased to HK$30 from HK$25 and HK$20, respectively. Taxis are charged HK$25 at all three crossings.
The changes coincide with the end of an agreement between the government and the Western Harbour Tunnel Company.
‘Toll changes at Hong Kong harbour crossings won’t initially ease congestion’
Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, said he expected 20 per cent of cross-harbour taxi passengers to switch to the less congested Western route as the charges had become more affordable.
“The feedback I received from cabbies this morning was really good. Many chose to cross the harbour via the Western route while the number of taxis using the Cross-Harbour Tunnel has greatly reduced,” he said. “But congestion has remained the same there.
“I believe the incidences of taxis refusing fares will be reduced as they will be more willing to cross the harbour. This will ease the conflicts between cabbies and passengers.”
But Chau warned that authorities needed to closely monitor whether the new policy would prompt more motorists to cross the harbour, contributing to congestion.
Motorist Alice Lee, who works for a beverage distribution company, said congestion at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel had worsened on Wednesday morning, despite car drivers facing an extra HK$700 every month in tolls.
“The Cross-Harbour Tunnel was even more congested this morning as it took me five minutes longer to queue up and drive through the tunnel,” she said. “The traffic hasn’t improved at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. I am so unhappy that we need to pay more for a service that hasn’t got any better.”
Lee said she generally spent 50 minutes, either way, crossing the harbour for her daily commute between her home in Kowloon Bay and office in Aberdeen, with 35 minutes of each journey being spent passing through the tunnel.
Fellow motorist Riemann Cheung, who runs a trading company in North Point, said he made the crossing several times a day and added that Wednesday morning’s traffic along the Hung Hom road seemed routine.
“I use the tunnel for travelling to Kowloon side from North Point in the morning. Usually during morning peak hours along this direction, there isn’t much congestion at the Hung Hom tunnel,” he said.
“This morning’s traffic was actually the same as before.”
Cheung said he was reluctant to switch to the Western route as there was a risk of congestion in Yau Ma Tei at night, when fruit market workers blocked the roads to shift goods.
Hong Kong’s Cross-Harbour Tunnel to adopt new electronic toll system on Sunday
Later in the year, the government will adjust tolls depending on the time of day to better manage the flow of traffic.
From Monday to Saturday, during the commuting rush from 7.30am to 10.15am and 4.30pm to 7pm, private cars will be charged HK$60 at the Western Harbour Tunnel and HK$40 at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Tunnel. The new peak-hour toll for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel is twice its current price.
All three tunnels will charge private cars HK$30 between 10.15am and 4.30pm and HK$20 between 7pm and 7.30am the next day.
To discourage motorists from rushing to cross before prices change, the tolls will increase or decrease by HK$2 every two minutes when transitioning to peak-hour or non-peak-hour periods until they reach the maximum rate.
Commercial vehicles will be charged HK$50 at all three crossings.
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