2.
Mr. POON Chi-fai (in Cantonese) : Sir, could the Government
inform this Council what is the major reason leading to
the overall increase in the traffic growth and flow in
Hong Kong? And aside from stepping up private projects
and the provision of transport facilities, have measures
of constraint been considered to prevent unnecessary
traffic growth?
Secretary for Transport: Sir, apart from the natural growth
in population which is still growing year after year
there is also the movement of people. Consequent upon
new town development, people from the urban areas are
moved to new towns in the New Territories and this has
generated a lot of traffic. Another point is that as the
quality of life improves, people tend to take Mass Transit
Railway or buses instead of walking as they did in the
past. As regards the second part of the question, we have
already been using fiscal measure to stop the increase in
the number of private vehicles but on the other hand I don't
think it is appropriate for the Government to stop the public
from using public transport for whatever purposes, whether it be for work, for pleasure or for social purposes.
No comments yet.
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