Untitled - Civic Exchange

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SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN HONG KONG: DIRECTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES Figure 3.3 Paris urban rail system (France) Source: Figure 3.4 New York City urban rail system (United States) Source: 24
Chapter 3: Road versus Rail - Financing Mass Transit in Hong Kong Figure 3.5 Tokyo urban rail system (Japan) Source: Until recently, the government's policy was that rail infrastructure would be put in place only after population levels were sufficient to allow system extensions to be quickly self-financing. Tseung Kwan O, for example, had to wait a decade for rail service, even though it lies only 3 km from an existing rail line. Even today, financing policy is modified only occasionally and on an ad hoc basis, as with the creation of the West Rail System to accommodate anticipated major population increases in the Western New Territories. In the case of the Northwest New Territories, mobility and air quality problems necessitated the early provision of clean, rail-based mass transit. Had the traditional policy been applied and area residents forced to wait until population levels had increased massively, there would likely have been traffic chaos and very severe episodes of air pollution. Failure to prevent these kinds of outcomes could damage the HKSAR's image internationally, in addition to jeopardizing the quality of life available to Hong Kong people. Bus-rail coordination In contrast to the skeletal coverage of rail in Hong Kong, buses provide extensive coverage in less densely populated areas. Further, bus fleets often compete directly with passenger rail, tending to raise costs for both providers. 68 The government's requirement that rail providers recover both capital and operating costs 68 While economists generally mistrust terms like wasteful competition (seeing them as "code words" for a hidden agenda), under specific conditions competition can be inefficient because it tends to increase, rather than lower, the overall costs of service. For example, inefficient bus-rail competition results in two basic problems. Consider a long-haul passenger transport route where road transport alone cannot adequately meet demand, but rail service could meet demand alone or with supplemental bus service. Here, the addition of large-scale direct bus competition for an existing fixed rail route reduces rail load factors, while the rail option keeps bus load factors low. This raises the average cost of service to both transport providers beyond what it would be if service by one major provider was supplemented with service from another provider. When buses are subsidized (or crosssubsidized through particular government policies), they may be able to operate on these routes at a modest profit, even with low load factors. Meanwhile, the rail provider must continue to operate so long as it takes in any income above its operating expenses so as to be able to repay the high fixed cost of railway construction 25
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SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN HONG KONG:
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SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT FOR HONG KONG
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APPENDICES Appendix 1 The Environme
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AUTHORS Bill Barron (wbarron@hkucc.
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REFERENCES Airport Authority Hong K
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Civic Exchange Room 601, Hoseinee H
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Untitled - Civic Exchange

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