WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1982
5
POSSIBLE CURBS ON CAR OWNERSHIP AND USAGE
*****
THE GOVERNMENT CONSIDERED DIRECT RESTRAINTS ON CAR OWNERSHIP AND ON USAGE BUT DECIDED AGAINST THEM FOR THE TIME BEING.
THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, THE HON ALAN SCOTT, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL THAT ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC GROUNDS, IT WAS CONSIDERED UNDESIRABLE TO DENY ASPIRATIONS OF OWNERSHIP COMPLETELY.
INSTEAD, THE GOVERNMENT CONSIDERED THAT OTHER MEASURES -- CONTAINED IN THE PACKAGE OF PROPOSALS PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL THIS AFTERNOON SHOULD BE TESTED BEFORE DIRECT RESTRAINT ON OWNERSHIP IS RESORTED TO.
MR SCOTT SAID THE MOST DIRECT AND EFFECTIVE RESTRAINT ON OWNERSHIP WAS A LIMITATION ON THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES.
SUCH A LIMIT COULD BE SET AS THE PRESENT NUMBER OF REGISTERED VEHICLES PLUS A DETERMINED ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, TO BE REVIEWED PERIODICALLY IN THE LIGHT OF ROAD CAPACITY AND LEVEL OF USAGE OF VEHICLES.
+THIS MEASURE IS SIMPLY DEFINED, QUICKLY AND EASILY INTRODUCED, AND EFFECTIVE IN OPERATION= IT CAN BE ACCURATELY EVALUATED AND FLEXIBLY HANDLED, HE SAID.
IT WOULD NOT AFFECT EXISTING CAR OWNERS, ONLY THE RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF INTENDING CAR OWNERS COMING FORWARD EACH YEAR. NOR WOULD IT PRODUCE ADDITIONAL REVENUE. BUT IT WOULD REDUCE THE RATE OF GROWTH OF REVENUE AND WOULD NOT THEREFORE INVOLVE CONFUSING ARGUMENTS ABOUT RESTRAINT MEASURES BEING IMPOSED IN ORDER TO RAISE REVENUE.
HOWEVER, SUCH A MEASURE, MR SCOTT SAID, WOULD PRESENT GREAT DIFFICULTIES AS TO THE METHOD OF ALLOCATION OF SUCH ADDITIONAL VEHICLES AS WOULD BE PERMITTED EACH YEAR.
THERE WERE VARIATIONS ON THE THEME, SUCH AS ALLOWING ONE CAR ONLY PER HOUSEHOLD, OR NOT ALLOWING OWNERSHIP OF A VEHICLE UNLESS PARKING SPACE IS PROVIDED.
*ALTHOUGH LIMITATION ON NUMBERS IS NOT PROPOSED AT PRESENT, WE CANNOT RULE IT OUT FOR THE FUTURE- IT MAY BE NECESSARY IF THE MEASURES NOW PROPOSED PROVE INSUFFICIENT, HE SAID.
MR SCOTT NOTED THAT ONLY 17 PER CENT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN HONG KONG OWN OR HAVE THE USE OF A CAR A VERY LOW PROPORTION COMPARED WITH DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
CONTINUING PROSPERITY IN HONG KONG WILL INCREASE DEMAND, HE SAID, AS WILL THE ABILITY TO TRAVEL BY BETTER ROADS SPREADING OUT THROUGH HONG KONG.
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES WERE NOT REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE THE IR POPULATIONS WERE MORE WIDELY SPREAD, BUT FIGURES SUCH AS 60 PER CENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND 95 PER CENT IN THE USA +ARE UNTHINKABLE FOR HONG KONG+, HE SAID.
AS
+ AN INCREASE