95.
In implementing its recommendation that all fitting-out projects in new housing estates should be entrusted to the Housing Authority's main contractor, the Director of Social Welfare is in the process of drawing up a three year rolling programme. The programme will be submitted on an annual basis to the Subventions and Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee and then to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council to approve a block commitment. Individual project estimates within the block commitment will be based upon a rough indication of cost derived from the agreed standards and will be adjusted as necessary once the relevant building contract is let.
96.
In implementing its recommendation that fitting- out projects in already constructed housing estates and estates under construction should be entrusted to the Housing Authority's term maintenance contractors, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in August 1985 approved the granting of $14 million from the Lotteries Fund for the introduction of a pilot scheme for 25 fitting-out projects where standards had been agreed.
97.
The effectiveness of the Government's transport policy for reducing traffic congestion. Because of Hong Kong's small area, high population and mountainous topography restrictions have to be placed on the limited road space which has one of the highest densities of vehicles in the world. Accordingly, the Government's policy is to give priority to public transport over motorcars, motor cycles and taxis so that traffic congestion can be kept within acceptable levels. In pursuit of this policy some interesting and imaginative proposals were submitted in March 1985 in the Government's Electronic Road Pricing Pilot-Stage Report which came to the general conclusion that there were two alternatives that could be adopted to achieve a comprehensive reduction in the number of private cars using the roads across the urban area. The first alternative was the current policy of increasing taxes on vehicle ownership, a policy that has been shown to work because measures introduced in 1982 had resulted in a 25% reduction in the number of licensed cars and a 10% fall in the use of cars on the roads. However, in order to contend with future congestion the report pointed out that it would be necessary, under current ownership control measures, to restrain the number of vehicles on the roads to 200,000 by 1991 and at the same time to increase the average annual licence fee to as much as $10,000. The second, and what the report considered to be the only other alternative that would work, was a comprehensive system of direct road pricing. Under this alternative the level of congestion would be lower, the community benefit would be greater and the number of licensed cars could be increased to 275,000 by 1991 without any further increase in the annual licence fees. The pilot stage of the Electronic Road Pricing