TRANSPORT
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The Hong Kong system came into full operation in September 1989 at a total project cost of about $65 million. It controls 170 sets of traffic light signals on the northern shore of the Island from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan. Experiments were carried out with the traffic responsive system called Split Cycle and Offset Optimisation Technique (SCOOT) in parts of Causeway Bay and Central area. Work was also in progress on the im- plementation of the Hong Kong Island Closed Circuit Television System for operation by 1992.
The introduction of computerised traffic control systems to the new towns has also been considered by the Transport Department, and a feasibility study for a new system in Tsuen Wan was commissioned during the year.
Parking
Government has constructed 14 multi-storey carparks. The new Tin Hau and Sheung Fung Street Carparks began operation in August and September respectively, bringing the total capacity to 8 200 parking spaces. These carparks are operated by a private company under a management contract. Other off-street public parking is provided by the Civil Aviation Department at Hong Kong International Airport and by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation at railway stations. The private sector also operates multi-storey and open-air carparks in commercial buildings, housing estates and open-air lots providing over 50 000 parking spaces. On-street parking is usually metered and is only provided at locations where traffic conditions permit. By the end of the year, there were 14 200 metered spaces throughout the territory, most of which operate between 8 am and midnight from Monday to Saturday at varying rates. In Causeway Bay, Happy Valley, Western, Tsim Sha Tsui and the Peak, where parking demand is high, meter operation has been extended to include Sundays and public holidays to facilitate a better turnover of parking spaces.
Government now encourages the private sector to construct and run public carparks and identification of sites for underground carparks has started.
Licensing
The number of new private cars registered rose from 24 177 in 1988 to 28 097 in 1989, an increase of 16.2 per cent. In 1982, when the total number of licensed private cars was about 190 000, restraint measures were introduced by substantial increases in private car licence fees and first registration tax. Despite this, and the introduction in 1986 of the compulsory private car inspection for six-year-old cars, the total number of licensed cars in December 1989 was 180 184, a growth of 12.2 per cent from the December 1988 total of 160 579.
The total number of goods vehicles in December 1989 was 123 329 as compared with the December 1988 total of 114 330, an increase of 7.9 per cent. Included in this total were 97 605 light goods vehicles which grew 7.3 per cent compared with 1988. These vehicles are increasingly being used as private passenger-carrying vehicles, and further measures are being considered to control their growth and use.
At the end of 1989, the total number of licensed vehicles in all classes was 345 397, an increase of 9.2 per cent over the previous year.
The number of new learner-drivers dropped from 6 100 per month in 1988 to 5 733 per month in 1989.
Since the introduction of the Driving Offence Points System in 1984, 5 753 drivers have been disqualified, 73 053 have been served with warning notices and 291 263 have incurred penalty points for committing offences scheduled under the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance. The figures for 1989 were 2 125, 21 783 and 45 498 respectively.