Two of Hong Kong's bigger political parties on Wednesday expressed support for the government's plans to lower its proposed toll for the Central Kowloon Bypass from HK$10 to HK$8 for all vehicles.

In announcing the change, the government said the toll fee was set having taken into consideration the views of the legislature's transport panel and the general public.

DAB lawmaker Stanley Li said the lower toll should be relatively attractive to drivers but called on officials to keep monitoring the situation after the charges are in place in the middle of next year, to see if more needs to be done to divert traffic.

"We hope officials won't keep everything unchanged," he said.

"They need to see whether the lower tolls will be attractive enough.

"If the new bypass is unable to divert traffic away from current roads, officials should consider implementing time-varying charges after assessing the situation."

DAB's Frankie Ngan, who's also a former Kwun Tong district councillor, said officials should keep a close eye on whether the charges for the bypass would cause more jams on the already busy Kwun Tong Road and Kwun Tong Bypass.

He called on the government to release more data on how the new Central Kowloon Bypass could ease traffic congestion in Kwun Tong.

Bill Tang from the Federation of Trade Unions noted that tolls for other major tunnels currently in use, such as Eagle's Nest Tunnel, are also at HK$8, so he thinks the public will find the toll level of the Central Kowloon Bypass acceptable.

He added that the lower charge would still leave a projected 15 percent of free capacity for the bypass to accommodate a potential increase in traffic down the road.

Drivers who spoke to RTHK had mixed reactions to news that the government also plans to double charges for street parking meters from HK$8 an hour to HK$16 in late September while also raising fines for other offences..

"I understand you need to adjust the charges – but given the poor economic situation right now, I'm a bit against it," one driver said.

"Especially as once the parking meters get more expensive, charges at car parks will also go up for sure."

Other drivers said they accept the changes, saying some of the fines and charges haven't been raised for a long time.