'Govt mulls cutting Tai Lam Tunnel tolls'
Sources said the government is considering various proposals that would reduce tolls at the Tai Lam Tunnel after taking control of it in May next year. Currently, tolls for private cars and taxis stand at HK$58. The authorities have met representatives from various political parties to discuss the proposed changes. One idea being floated is to charge private cars from HK$20 to HK$45, based on the time of the day. There are also proposals to lower the tolls for private cars and taxis to HK$35 or HK$45. Another option under consideration is to keep the current tolls unchanged, but officials fear that may lead to congestion at nearby Tuen Mun Road, Tolo Highway and Ting Kau Bridge during the rush hour by 2026. Lawmaker Gary Zhang, who is a member of Legco transport panel, called on the government to introduce time-varying tolls at the tunnel. "At one hand, we need to ensure that even during peak hours, Tai Lam Tunnel can continue to be a convenient and not very congested route for different users, especially for our commercial vehicles, because that's a very important corridor for Hong Kong logistics industry," he told RTHK. "At the same time, the residents, they do have very high expectation of a toll reduction of the Tai Lam Tunnel." Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien urged the government to lower tolls to less than HK$35. "I've always used the VC ratio, which is the volume capacity ratio of 1.2 as a basis of calculation. If we use VC ratio of 1, which means the capacity is equal to the volume, every single bridge and tunnel in Hong Kong will be considered overcapacity," he said.  "Currently, the couple of scenarios that they use all resulted in the Ting Kau Bridge having a volume capacity ratio less than 1.2. If that's the case, we still have room for the downward adjustment."