Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker Aaron Bok on Wednesday said the government should significantly expand the daily quota for Guangdong vehicles travelling to Hong Kong, saying the current limit of 100 cars is too low.

The engineering sector representative said he thinks the quota could be raised by as much as 10 times, to a 1,000 vehicles a day, saying this could help boost the economy.

"I believe the government will take gradual steps in this regard. But if you ask me, it's not a problem to raise the quota to 500 a day or even 1,000," he said on the RTHK programme "In the Chamber".

"A 10-fold rise might sound like a lot, but once the vehicles travel south, when they spread across the city, you don't really know where the cars have gone."

Bok said his proposal to raise the quota would "definitely not" lead to traffic congestion, stressing that "not every vehicle will travel to Canton Road" in Tsim Sha Tsui as different drivers would want to go to different places.

He said the SAR is mostly ready to digest more southbound vehicles, as many shopping malls have been fitted with national standard charging facilities or converters for electric vehicles from the mainland.

The lawmaker went on to say that the existing rules require southbound drivers to obtain a Hong Kong licence before being allowed to travel.

For additional safety, he said authorities could subject them to extra tests on important traffic regulations in the SAR, such as no parking by double yellow lines, no crossing double white lines and traffic signs for no entry zones.

Bok raised similar questions in Legco.

In a written reply to the legislature, transport minister Mable Chan said it plans to expand the quota in an orderly and gradual manner.

"[The SAR government] is planning to progressively expand the scope of the scheme from the current four cities in Guangdong Province... to other Guangdong cities after six months of implementation, with a view to taking forward the Southbound Travel Scheme in a prudent and manageable manner," she said.

Factors at play, the secretary noted, include the capacities of port facilities, local road traffic and support facilities such as electric vehicle chargers.




Edited by Tony Sabine