Apology for blunder in start to new tolls

Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee Chung-yan has apologized after around 4,700 vehicle owners were overcharged the old toll rate at Western Harbour Crossing on the first working day after the time-varying toll system was implemented on Sunday.

The overcharging arose out of a "human error" that lasted between 10.02 am and 11.04 am.

"We have received a report from the tunnel operator, saying there was a human error while setting the toll schedule, leading to the system using the old toll schedule," Lee said.

"The operator has contacted the owners of around 70 percent, or around 3,400, of the vehicles to make refunds," she added.

The remaining 1,300 owners have yet to pay their tolls, therefore the operator has sent them an updated payment notice.

"I have demanded the operator seriously investigate the incident and submit a report, and will deal with the responsibility afterward," Lee said.

Asked about the reason why a human error could possibly be made in the automatic toll system, Lee said: "This will also be one of the directions of our probe, but I have to emphasize that the mistake is not within our expectation."

Lee also defended HKeToll and time-varying toll system, saying that the hiccup was unrelated to the system.

"The incident is an unfortunate one, as a colleague made a human error, but we can see the system working normally," she said.

This came after Legislative Council member Gary Zhang Xinyu took to Facebook to say he was charged HK$60, instead of HK$52, when he passed through the tunnel at 10.22 am yesterday.

He said he also heard a lot of people say they were overcharged.

Fai, a truck driver, said he and a friend were charged HK$85 at 10.30 am instead of the HK$50 under the new toll schedule.

Andrew, a heavy goods vehicle driver, was charged HK$110 instead of HK$50.

He said: "After my friends started talking about it on Whatsapp, I found I was charged HK$110 instead of HK$50. This is really causing a lot of inconvenience."

The administration said overall cross-harbor traffic remained generally smooth after implementation of the system.

A bus passenger said "it only took me less than 10 minutes to get from the Cross-Harbour Tunnel to Victoria Park, I think it saved me around five minutes at least."

Chan Siu-hung, deputy chairman of Legco's transport panel, said he too saved time in his crossing but added: "I am not sure if it is due to the time-varying toll system, or other factors, for example maybe some people left Hong Kong for Christmas."

Hong Kong Automobile Association president Ringo Lee Yiu-pui said the new system cannot solve the congestion problem.

"The tunnels are already operating well beyond their capacity. The government should consider building a fourth cross-harbor tunnel or bridge," Lee said.