SUNDAY, JULY 12, 1981
NUMBER OF PRIVATE CARS DOUBLES IN DECADE, PASSES 200 000
******
THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED PRIVATE CARS IN HONG KONG HAS PASSED THE 200 000 MARK DOUBLE THE FIGURE OF JUST UNDER 10 YEARS AGO.
STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SHOW THAT 201 240 PRIVATE CARS WERE REGISTERED AT JUNE 30, 1981, COMPARED WITH 100 336 AT JULY 31, 1971.
THIS MEANS THAT PRIVATE CARS NOW REPRESENT ALMOST TWO OUT OF EVERY THREE OF THE 315 642 VEHICLES REGISTERED.
A SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED PRIVATE CARS WAS RUNNING ABOUT SEVEN PER CENT AHEAD OF
PROJECTIONS FOR THE UNRESTRAINED GROWTH OF PRIVATE CAR OWNERSHIP FORECAST IN THE HONG KONG COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORT STUDY, COMPLETED IN 1976 BY AN INTERNATIONAL FIRM OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS AND PLANNERS.
SOME 2 731 NEW PRIVATE CARS WERE REGISTERED IN JUNE, WHILE
THE NUMBER OF LAPSED REGISTRATIONS TOTALLED 1 081.
THIS HELPED PRODUCE A NET INCREASE OF ALMOST 25 000 PRIVATE CARS OR 14 PER CENT IN THE 12 MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30,
HOWEVER, THE SPOKESMAN ADDED THAT, OF THE 201 240 PRIVATE CARS REGISTERED, ONLY 181 204 OR 90 PER CENT WERE LICENSED TO BE ON THE ROADS.
SIMILARLY, OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VEHICLES REGISTERED 315 642 - ONLY 280 428 OR 88 PER CENT WERE LICENSED.
+THIS GIVES A DENSITY OF 240 VEHICLES FOR EACH OF THE 1 164 KILOMETRES OF ROAD IN THE TERRITORY, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
+AND IT FURTHER REINFORCES THE 1981 GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS' CLAIM THAT HONG KONG HAS THE HIGHEST TRAFFIC DENSITY IN THE WORLD.+
O
1
1
/2