Traffic 'smooth' as new tunnel tolls introduced
Traffic through the three tunnels across Victoria Harbour was smooth on Wednesday morning, transport minister Lam Sai-hung said, as new tolls for taxis and private cars were introduced. The fee for car drivers has come down at the Western Harbour Crossing and has gone up at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Crossing, while taxis pay HK$25 to use any of the three. Lam said the number of taxis using the Western Harbour Crossing was 50 percent higher than normal on Wednesday morning. "When it comes to toll fares, the revenue from the three cross-harbour tunnels is not what's most important. Our biggest goal is to tackle the heavy traffic situation among these tunnels, which was the direction the government took in creating this scheme," he said. A taxi driver told RTHK that he thinks a lot of his colleagues will start using the Western Harbour Crossing more, now that it's cheaper. But another taxi driver, a man surnamed Szeto, said the fees should come down even more. "The Cross-Harbour Tunnel is more central in the territory so it's convenient for drivers to get anywhere, whereas the Western Harbour Crossing is only for the Western district. The fixed rate will definitely disperse the traffic flow, but it's still too expensive, it should drop to HK$15 to HK$20," he said.