Electronic boards to set out tolls at harbor crossings

Electronic boards will be put up at the three cross-harbor road crossings to tell drivers about the toll they have to pay when the government implements the time-varying tolls system on December 17.

The government has announced that tolls would be increased or decreased by HK$2 per two minutes during the transitional period between rush and non-rush hours.

Under the new arrangement, private cars will be charged HK$60 for Western Harbour Crossing and HK$40 for the Cross Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Crossing during peak hours from Monday to Saturday.

The toll will rise from 7.30 am from the HK$20 overnight toll, and will gradually drop from 10.15 am when peak hour ends to HK$30 at all three tunnels.

Motorcyclists will be charged 40 percent of the toll, which will range from HK$8 to HK$24 at the Western crossing, and HK$8 to HK$16 at Cross Harbour and Eastern tunnels during peak hours.

Screens will be put up near tunnel entrances to display real-time toll charge, which will be above the portal frames that have the HKeToll scanners installed to identify and bill vehicles.

Drivers can also check their bills in the HKeToll app, or the Transport Department's HKeMobility app.

Legislative Council member Ben Chan Han-pan said the department will install electronic boards to show the toll at the moment, but they will not display the actual time.

"I think the boards' layout is simple and easy to understand, and it's not too complicated for the drivers," said Chan, chairman of the transport panel.

Chan quoted the department as saying that the government does not want people to rush past toll gates to pay less and therefore will not show the time remaining.

But he said the government should reconsider its decision as it is "essential" to let drivers know the time before tolls change to prevent arguments.

"The entire time-varying toll mechanism is all about timing," he said.

Chan also said the capacity of the three road harbor crossings is already saturated, and he hopes that the time-varying tolls system can further alleviate the problem.

He said Western crossing had diverted 10 percent of the traffic away from the other two tunnels after authorities claimed it back and adjusted tolls in August.

"We can see that many taxis had changed over to using the Western crossing after August, and drivers have felt the Cross Harbour Tunnel traffic had became less congested,," he said.

Transport panel vice-chairman Chan Siu-hung called on authorities to put forward a proposal for a fourth cross-harbor tunnel as soon as possible, saying the capacity of the three tunnels has reached 127 percent.