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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1974
FEWER VEHICLES REGISTERED
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HONG KONG'S TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED VEHICLES HAS DROPPED BY ABOUT FOUR PER CENT FROM THE RECORD HIGH OF 202,953 TWELVE MONTHS AGO TO 194,564 AT THE END OF LAST MONTH.
A TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID TODAY THIS HAD OBVIOUSLY RESULTED FROM A REVERSE TREND MONTHLY RATIO OF NEW
IN THE REGISTRATIONS AND CANCELLATIONS WHICH STARTED LAST DECEMBER AND CONTINUED INTO THE PAST 11 MONTHS.
HE POINTED OUT THAT UNTIL LAST DECEMBER, THERE HAD ALWAYS BEEN MORE NEW REGISTRATIONS EACH MONTH THAN CANCELLATIONS, WHICH MEANT MORE REGISTERED VEHICLES ON THE ROAD.
HOWEVER, THE TREND REVERSED IN DECEMBER WHICH SAW MORE CANCELLATIONS AND FEWER NEW REGISTRATIONS INSTEAD. EVER SINCE, THE RATE OF CANCELLATIONS HAS GONE UP EACH MONTH WHILE THAT OF NEW REGISTRATIONS HAS DECLINED.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID THERE COULD BE VARIOUS REASONS FOR THIS, BUT THE CURRENT WORLD-WIDE ECONOMIC SITUATION WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE PEOPLE GIVING UP THEIR CARS AND FEWER PEOPLE ASPIRING TO OWN ONE.
IN ANY CASE, HE SAID, THE DROP IN REGISTERED VEHICLES IS TO BE SEEN AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO SMOOTHER FLOW OF TRAFFIC, AS IN HONG KONG, WITH ITS LIMITED TOPOGRAPHY, THE GROWTH IN VEHICLES INVARIABLY RESULTS IN MOUNTING ROAD CONGESTION.
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IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED VEHICLES REACHED 202,953, WITH 1,822 NEW REGISTRATIONS AND 1,372 CANCELLATIONS. IN THE FOLLOWING MONTH, IT WENT DOWN TO 202,775 WITH 1,056 NEW REGISTRATIONS AND 1,234 CANCELLATIONS, REPRESENTING A NET DECREASE OF 178 REGISTERED VEHICLES.
DURING THE PAST 11 MONTHS, 19,653 REGISTRATIONS WERE STRUCK OFF THE REGISTER WHILE ONLY 11,442 VEHICLES WERE NEWLY REGISTERED, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED VEHICLES DOWN TO 194,564 AT THE END OF LAST MONTH A DECREASE OF ANOTHER 8,211 REGISTRATION.
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A STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN SHOWS THAT SINCE LAST DECEMBER, THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED PRIVATE CARS HAS DROPPED BY 9,377 OR ABOUT SEVEN PER CENT TO 120,274- REGISTERED LORRIES, BY 141 OR 0.4 PER CENT TO 31,298- MOTOR SCOOTERS, BY 1,026 OR 16 PER CENT TO 5,278, WHILE THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED MOTOR CYCLES HAS GONE UP BY 1,152 OR SIX PER CENT TO 18,060.
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