In October 1981 the Executive Council was asked to consider the adoption of the Working Group's report as Government policy but in deciding to defer a decision pending a re-examination of certain details, including parking standards, the Governor in Council ruled that the existing policy of restraining car use by a general restriction of provision of parking space should be abandoned. At first this ruling was thought to conflict with the policy set out in the White Paper but on closer examination the Secretary for Transport concluded that there was no conflict and that the Government policy remained as laid down in the White Paper. Nevertheless, the misunderstanding persisted and was reflected in the Secretary for Transport's speech to the Legislative Council seven months later, in May 1982. The matter was never properly clarified because, although the revised parking standards were approved, the Working Group's report was never resubmitted to the Executive Council for adoption as Government policy.
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The removal of parking and taxi control measures from the White Paper's package of proposals for reducing traffic congestion meant that the Government had to rely to a greater extent than intended on increasing annual licence fees as a means of control. This made it more necessary to consider other long-term solutions to the traffic congestion problem and soon after the introduction of the 1982 vehicle restraint measures, the Transport Branch received brief notes prepared by consultants suggesting that Hong Kong might be the prime candidate for considering electronic road pricing. However, the consultants stressed the need for a feasibility study to consider the objectives of restraint policy and the various options available to implement the policy, including the practicability of each of the different methods. The Secretary for Transport responded quickly to the prospect of road pricing and in May 1982 he put in motion the process that led to the pilot stage of the electronic road pricing scheme. However, he was reluctant to spend time reconsidering all the options as suggested by the consultants, apparently believing that the only options open to Hong Kong were either high vehicle taxation or electronic road pricing. Taxi and parking
controls were excluded from consideration because these were stated to have been rejected by the Governor in Council.
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