Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (November 22):

Question:

     HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, has been implemented since May this year and has been successively extended to the three road harbour crossings (RHCs). Motorists are required to install toll tags (i.e. vehicle tags or class tags) on their vehicles to facilitate detection by the system and deduction of tunnel tolls from the pre-set toll payment accounts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective percentages of successful and unsuccessful detection of toll tags by the detection system among the vehicles installed with toll tags since the implementation of HKeToll;

(2) as some motorists have relayed that large sums of fine had been incurred due to repeated failures of the detection system in detecting the class tags, whether the authorities will set a cap on the amount of fine before the operation of the detection system becomes totally reliable, so as to provide motorists with a certain level of protection; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) as it has been reported that tunnel tolls were charged to some motorists for vehicles parked in the car parks because the system had wrongly detected the passing of such vehicles through tunnels with HKeToll, whether it has compiled statistics on the number of such detection error cases since the implementation of HKeToll; of the number of related complaints handled by the toll service provider, and the details of the relevant handling mechanism; and

(4) as the authorities have reduced the number of vehicle passing lanes at the toll plazas of the three RHCs after the implementation of HKeToll, there are views pointing out that with such an arrangement, traffic congestion which used to occur at the toll plazas has been extended to the upstream carriageways, whether the Government has examined if the capacities and vehicular flows of the three RHCs during peak hours after the reduction of vehicle passing lanes have caused traffic congestion in the upstream carriageways (e.g. whether the condition of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel has affected the traffic at Hong Chong Road, East Kowloon Corridor, Princess Margaret Road, etc; the condition of the Eastern Harbour Crossing has affected the traffic at Lei Yue Mun Road, Island Eastern Corridor, Kwun Tong Bypass and Tseung Kwan O Road; and the condition of the Western Harbour Crossing has affected the traffic at Connaught Road West, etc); if traffic congestion has occurred in the upstream carriageways as a result, of the details, as well as the improvement measures to be taken by the authorities?

Reply:
 
President,

     To promote Smart Mobility, HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, has been progressively implemented at the government-tolled tunnels and Tsing Sha Control Area this year, enabling motorists to settle tunnel tolls remotely using toll tags without having to stop or queue at toll booths for payment, thereby saving motorists’ time and bringing more convenience to them. With the help of the equipment installed at the toll area of the tunnels, the relevant systems process remote payments through detection of toll tag using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, coupled with the reading of the vehicle registration mark using the automatic number plate recognition technology. The Transport Department (TD) and the toll service provider have been closely monitoring the operation of the system and making adjustments to the system as necessary to further improve the HKeToll service.

     Having consulted the TD, our reply to the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau is as follows:

(1) Over 99 per cent of the toll tags installed in accordance with the guidelines could be detected by the relevant systems of HKeToll, as attested by repeated tests conducted by the TD. For vehicles affixed with toll tags, the detection accuracy may be affected by various factors, such as whether the tags have been installed correctly according to the TD's guidelines, and whether there is interference from other electronic devices in the vehicle such as dashboard cameras or radio antennas, etc.

(2) As of November 14, over 810 000 vehicle tags were issued, accounting for more than 99 per cent of all the licensed vehicles in Hong Kong. Among them, about 92 per cent of the vehicles have opened HKeToll accounts, and about 73 per cent of the vehicles have set up automatic payment means. As a result, most of the vehicles can pay the tolls automatically and instantly. Those registered vehicle owners who have not yet set up automatic payment means can pay the outstanding tolls through various payment methods within 14 business days after passing through the tunnel.
 
     Earlier on, the media reported that some registered vehicle owners/drivers had received surcharge notices. According to TD’s investigation, the registered vehicle owner concerned had not set up an automatic payment means and had not topped up his account in a timely manner, resulting in an insufficient balance in his account. Despite the notifications issued by the HKeToll system to remind the registered vehicle owner to pay the outstanding toll in time, the registered vehicle owner failed to handle the payment promptly and thus missed the deadline for paying the outstanding tolls within 14 business days and was surcharged.
 
     The Government understands that, some registered vehicle owners had not set up automatic payment means or failed to pay outstanding tolls in time during the initial period of the implementation of HKeToll, perhaps because they were not fully aware of the service arrangements and operation. Therefore, during the initial period of the implementation of HKeToll, the TD would exercise discretion in handling the relevant surcharges on a case-by-case basis, and the surcharges involved would be waived under reasonable circumstances (for example, the surcharge involved was incurred before the registration of HKeToll account and the registered vehicle owner has subsequently registered an account and set up an automatic payment means; or the registered vehicle owner was not aware of unsuccessful automatic payment). In fact, with the smooth implementation of HKeToll at various government-tolled tunnels/Control Area, motorists have gradually become accustomed to using HKeToll to pay tolls, and the number of registered vehicle owners who have set up automatic payment means has also increased. It is envisaged that the chance of defaulting on toll payments in the future would be slim.
 
     The TD has stepped up the publicity through HKeToll website videos, radio, television, tunnel broadcasts, variable message signs, posters, leaflets, social media platforms, newspapers and magazines, etc, to remind and give instruction to registered vehicle owners to complete the three-step process for setting up HKeToll service as soon as possible: (i) installation of a vehicle tag, (ii) opening an HKeToll account and (iii) setting up an automatic payment means, so as to enjoy the convenience brought by the HKeToll. Motorists in need can also approach the four customer service centres and four service outlets, as well as the consultation counters at 21 MTR stations across the territory for assistance. Details of the HKeToll customer service are at Annex.
 
     As for the proposal to set an upper limit on surcharge, the Government is of the view that the existing discretionary arrangements for handling surcharge cases have been effective in encouraging registered vehicle owners to become familiar with the HKeToll service, while at the same time balancing the need for taking time to adapt by registered vehicle owners.

(3) In the past five months or so, complaints related to toll payment accounted for an average of about 0.023 per cent of the overall traffic flow using HKeToll. In October this year, the relevant figure has further dropped to about 0.016 per cent (about 70 cases per day), mainly involving a small number of private cars that did not have vehicle tags affixed, and some of them may not have sufficiently legible vehicle registration marks to be accurately identified by the automatic licence plate recognition system. In this case, manual image review would be carried out by the toll service provider, and human errors occasionally occur during the process. Among the complaints received relating to HKeToll service, we have not found any cases where toll tags of HKeToll users were mistakenly detected by car parks.
 
     Upon receipt of complaints, the TD will actively follow up with the toll service provider. In addition, the toll service provider has also developed dedicated programs to enhance the system's capability to recognise vehicle registration marks. The situation has improved. In respect of complaint handling time, the toll service provider can generally reply to complaints within 10 business days, and for more complicated cases, they will complete the investigation and reply within 21 business days.

(4) In order to ensure smooth traffic flow, the TD and relevant departments have comprehensively considered various factors including the road environment, traffic conditions, and public transport services, etc, of each tolled tunnel and control area when formulating temporary and permanent traffic arrangements (including finalising the number of traffic lanes) for the implementation of HKeToll.
 
     The road capacity of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) and the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC) is constrained by the fact that there are only two traffic lanes in each of the north and south bound tunnel tube. The traffic demand during peak hours on weekdays has already exceeded the design capacity of the two tunnels. Therefore, the implementation of HKeToll alone will not bring about significant improvement to the existing congestion situation at the CHT and EHC.
 
     It is observed that the traffic flow at the CHT during morning and afternoon peak hours and the traffic conditions of the connecting roads upon implementation of HKeToll were in general similar as before. The current temporary traffic arrangement at the toll plaza of the CHT has already taken into account the traffic conditions of the upstream connecting roads and reduced the need for weaving as far as possible, so as to bring about a more orderly traffic near the toll plaza.
 
     As for the EHC, after the implementation of HKeToll, motorists traveling to Hong Kong Island via the Kwun Tong Bypass no longer need to weave for opting for the AutoToll lane or the manned toll lane. The average queue length at Kwun Tong Bypass during morning peak on weekdays has been shortened by about 700 meters as compared what was before the implementation of HKeToll. However, as temporary traffic arrangements are being implemented in the area around the toll plaza for conducting road works, the traffic from the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel to the EHC is slightly affected, which may cause traffic queues during the busiest hour on weekday mornings. We expect that upon completion of the road works, the traffic lanes will be straightened to achieve a smoother drive.
 
     As for the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC), the traffic conditions from Connaught Road West westbound towards the WHC have not changed significantly after the implementation of HKeToll.
 
     The TD will continue to monitor the traffic conditions of various tunnels after the implementation of HKeToll and the new toll plan, and formulate appropriate traffic management measures where necessary. We will also continue to closely monitor the operation of HKeToll, make continuous improvements and adjustments to the system, and conduct rigorous tests regularly to prepare for the upcoming implementation of HKeToll at Tate's Cairn Tunnel on November 26, time-varying toll at the three road harbour crossings on December 17, and the HKeToll at Aberdeen Tunnel within this year.

Ends/Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Issued at HKT 11:40

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