Members’ Motion： “Facilitating land-based cross-boundary transport”
President, I am very grateful to Mr Adrian Pedro HO for proposing this motion. The accessibility and efficiency of land-based transport, as the direct link connecting to the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”), have a direct bearing on the room and impetus for Hong Kong’s future development. The SAR Government must adopt a forward-looking strategy to enhance the accessibility of cross-boundary transport, so as to seize future development opportunities.
In recent years, the waiting times for Gold Bus and Yellow Bus are very long during public holidays, which has become the focus of complaints from many members of the public and visitors. With the strengthened communication between the Transport Department (“TD”) and service operators, added with advance planning, the situation has significantly improved. But in fact, the Government possesses the real-time passenger flow data of all boundary control points (“BCPs”). If tools such as artificial intelligence (“AI”) can be used to forecast changes in passenger flow, combined with real-time verification, timely communication with operators and dynamic deployment can be achieved. This would not only effectively facilitate passenger flow and reduce waiting times but also optimize the utilization of operators’ resources.
On another note, middle-class groups of the two places prefer using private cars for cross-boundary travel. Yet, the costs of obtaining dual licence plates are relatively high at present, which has failed to meet their practical needs. Therefore, I am glad to see that the Government has successively launched the “Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles” (“NBT”) scheme and the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles” (“SBT”) scheme, enabling the accelerated formation of the “one-hour living circle” in GBA.
The NBT policy has been implemented for two years, with over 100 000 vehicles registered. As of the middle of this month, TD has also received 2 500 applications for the SBT scheme, reflecting the enormous demand for cross-boundary travel of private cars via land BCPs. Yet, the highway network in Guangdong Province is very dense, with a total length of highways exceeding 220 000 km, providing ample capacity to accommodate our cross-boundary vehicles. Therefore, in this regard, I suggest that the authorities can discuss with the Mainland to continuously increase the quota for the NBT scheme. In contrast, the total length of public roads in Hong Kong is merely 2 200 km, there is a relatively huge gap when compared with the huge scale of highways in Mainland GBA cities. For this reason, regarding the SBT scheme, I suggest adopting a “small-and-quick step” approach to gradually increase the number of quota while ensuring that it would not impose burden on Hong Kong’s existing road network.
At the same time, the authorities should further optimize the quota allocation mechanism. I understand that the authorities have already adopted some enhancement measures to increase applicants’ chance of success in a ballot. Yet, I suggest that this kind of ballot should draw reference from the ballot system for the allocation of public rental housing. Building on the existing basis, we should appropriately increase the probability of success for applicants who have failed in previous ballots. This approach would ensure greater fairness in quota utilization.
Another pain point is that under the existing travel mode, vehicles with dual licence plates can only cross the boundary via a fixed BCP, which can hardly meet the diverse actual travel needs of businessmen who frequently travel between the two places and even cross-boundary families. The vehicles need to make detours, which would not only require more time but also increase the traffic loads in the urban areas of both places. I propose that the Government should establish a management system with AI analytical capability to dynamically monitor the vehicle flow at each BCP, so as to analyse and forecast the trend of daily vehicle flow. Basing on the results of such forecasts, an arrangement for the flexible use of BCPs can be introduced to provide a small number of quota for vehicles holding the licence for a specific BCP outside peak periods during non-public holidays. This would enable them to make advance application (such as 48 hours before) via a platform for using other BCPs basing on their actual travel needs, thereby allowing greater flexibility for travel. At present, vehicles with dual licence plates may only cross the boundary via the Huanggang Port after 12:00 midnight, demonstrating that the cross-boundary transport system possesses the technical foundation for switching between different BCPs. The Government should continue discussion with the Mainland to implement the “one vehicle, multiple ports” arrangement, so as to enhance the travel flexibility of cross-boundary vehicles.
Besides, many colleagues have mentioned that the relevant procedures for application for dual licence plates, vehicle inspections, taking out insurance, and application for Closed Area Permit, etc. are very complicated at present. The authorities should draw reference from the approach of processing through a one-stop platform between Guangdong and Hong Kong adopted for the NBT scheme and the SBT scheme. This would consolidate all procedures onto a single platform, so that users can complete most of the procedures online without having to visit many different departments and locations, thereby enhancing the efficiency and convenience of processing.
The Express Rail Link (“XRL”) also provides a very important option for cross-boundary travel. During festive holidays, the interval between the opening time of the Kowloon West Station and the departure time of the first XRL train is very short. Some passengers might miss the first train, resulting in their entire holiday plans being ruined. I suggest that the authorities should coordinate with relevant Mainland authorities to appropriately advance the opening time during special festive holidays, thereby allowing passengers sufficient time to complete the security checks and clearance procedures.
President, facilitating the convenience of cross-boundary transport is not only a pragmatic measure to enhance people’s well-being, but also an important pillar for boosting the overall competitiveness of GBA. I support the motion.