Smooth start on first working day for new time-varying tunnel tolls

Hong Kong’s new time-varying tolls for the cross-harbor tunnels got off to a smooth start on the first working day of operations on Monday morning, with traffic congestion significantly reduced at the Eastern Harbour Crossing.

At the Cross Harbour Tunnel, morning rush-hour traffic was generally smooth, with slight congestion observed near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. However, motorists told reporters that traffic at the Western Harbor Crossing was the same as before.

Motorists also reflected that a display screen notifying them of the toll charge was installed at a height not clearly visible to them.

Additionally, some morning commuters at the tunnel interchange noted that buses now arrive on time, which is most likely due to the reduction in traffic congestion.

The traffic condition at the Western Harbor Crossing's Kowloon entrance was monitored by government officials including Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee Chung-yan and Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung.

Speaking to the press, Lam said the operation of the Western Harbor Crossing, including the display screens for the toll charge, was normal, and there were no significant traffic congestions for the three tunnels as of 8 am. He noted that authorities will continue to monitor the operation in the afternoon.

In response to the minibus industry's outcry that the flat toll charge of HK$50 for commercial vehicles is too high, Lam explained that the new tolls for commercial vehicles such as minibusses are similar to the average of the previous charge for the three harbor crossings.

He also noted that the tolls for the Western Harbor Crossing have been reduced by approximately 40 percent.

“The tolls are reasonable and the industry route charges can be processed in a flexible manner based on market and tunnel conditions,” Lam said.