Hong Kong's esteemed English newspaper of record continues to flog its dead horse: the tunnel congestion problem that didn't happen. Today's headline: Experts warn of time bomb as congestion threatens to build. The only time bomb is the day when the SCMP admits this story doesn't have legs.

Experts warn of time bomb as congestion threatens to build

Road congestion is expected to worsen today and transport experts are warning of a traffic "time bomb" unless urgent action is taken to better distribute vehicles among the three harbour tunnels.
The warning comes after Sunday's toll increase in the Eastern Harbour Tunnel sparked fears of gridlock on other routes. Today is expected to be particularly hectic, with Fridays usually the busiest day for delivery trucks and out of town travellers.

The Observatory has also forecast showers and thunderstorms, which could further slow traffic.

"Fridays are the busiest for goods vehicles because most companies try to get their orders before the weekend," said Stanley Chiang, chairman of the Lok Ma Chau Freight Association.

Traffic in the Western Harbour Tunnel and Cross-Harbour Tunnel stayed at the same level as of yesterday afternoon, but motorists continued to shun the eastern harbour route.

The Transport Department reported a 20 per cent drop, or 13,369 fewer vehicles, using the eastern route as of 8pm last night.

The number of cars using all three tunnels had fallen by 6 per cent, or about 7,600 vehicles, by 3pm compared with a normal Thursday. Many drivers have apparently taken to public transport amid dire warnings about traffic.

Hung Wing-tat, a Polytechnic University engineering professor who specialises in transport and traffic modelling, said traffic at the tunnels needs to be distributed evenly so resources were not wasted on the eastern and western routes. "It's a time bomb. If this problem isn't solved, it will continue to waste societal resources. We need to divert the traffic," he said.

Professor Hung said the government should take its own advice and solve the problem by raising the toll at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in a profit-sharing agreement with the other tunnel operators.

Before I go on, I feel for the graphic artists at SCMP. Every day this week they've had to fill in the same template, outlining the traffic at each of the 3 tunnels. Today's example:

Each day the chart shows the same thing: traffic down in the Eastern tunnel but basically unchanged in the other two. The poor graphic artists are probably begging for any other assignment than another day of filling in the numbers. Same for the journalists assigned to the story.

All the fretting about traffic distribution can be easily solved with a toll rise in the Cross-Harbour tunnel and common sense.

Indeed Agnes Lam's Cab Chat, where the SCMP fills in a quarter page with the thoughts of local taxi drivers, today features Marco Yip:

I did a little survey myself after reading news reports about the increased toll for the Eastern Harbour Tunnel. I asked my customers if they would switch to other tunnels to avoid the expensive toll, and most of them told me time was the vital factor. They said they would not choose other tunnels unless they were in a hurry. And they would take the MTR if they had time. So, time is the most important consideration and money only comes second.

I think congestion problems at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel will not be solved because of its convenient location and it does provide the fastest route for going to Causeway Bay and Wan Chai. Hong Kong people are very good at adapting to the new environment. They will get used to the expensive toll very soon. Those private car drivers are only feeling furious and angry, and this is why they switch to other means of transport these days. I am sure they will use the Eastern Harbour Tunnel again after a while.

The Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Eastern Harbour Tunnel will continue to be busy just like before. Though the traffic has been quite smooth in the past few days, I am sure the Cross-Harbour Tunnel will be very congested within one month. The traffic has been very well controlled in the past few days as the bus companies deploy extra buses and manpower at the stations in Hunghom and the government keeps reminding people to leave for work earlier.

The public just feel the urge to voice their anger against the new toll, but they will give in eventually. Who wants to get stuck in a traffic jam every day? I bet for sure drivers will choose the Eastern Harbour Tunnel once they calm down.

Time is also vital for taxi drivers. No driver can endure long waits in a queue. We can only make more money if we serve more customers, and congestion really affects our earnings. We are racing against time every day, and we cannot just sit around and wait to enter a tunnel that is troubled by congestion all the time.