Hong Kong is home to one of the densest and most heavily used road networks in the world. As of June 2020, the Highways Department reported some 787,000 licensed vehicles on nearly 2,130 km of roads across the territory – more than 370 per kilometre on average. City planners and developers have increased their efforts in recent years to reduce traffic congestion and road risks by shifting towards an increasingly data-driven, efficient, and environmentally friendly urban transport system. An overview of the current status and future trajectory of smart and sustainable mobility in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, a city where traffic is dense and space chronically scarce, private car ownership may come with certain challenges. From higher purchasing rates for imported vehicles, to insurance, to road tolls and parking fees, maintaining a private car in Hong Kong is a cost factor that relatively few are able or willing to afford. Hence, the motorisation rate is low: As of 2020, the Transport Department counted just 76.7 registered private cars per 1,000 inhabitants on average. By comparison, Germany’s rate stood at 575 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in 2019, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
While the overall number of private cars in Hong Kong has increased from around 400,000 in 2006 to 640,000 as of 2020 – an increase by nearly 60% – the availability of parking spaces has sharply declined from 1.51 to 1.07 per vehicle over the same period. The acute shortage of car parking spots has become an increasingly prominent issue in recent years, highlighted every now and then by rather head-scratching local news headlines.
In June 2021, for instance, three 134.5 sq ft (12.5 sq m) parking spots on the Peak were reportedly sold for a world record HK$11.9 million (US$1.53 million) each – equivalent to a price per square foot of more than HK$88,000. This shattered the previous record set in Hong Kong back in October 2019, when a parking space at The Centre office tower had changed owners for the modest fee of HK$7.6 million (US$980,000).
In one of the world’s most expensive housing markets, parking spaces have become highly sought-after alternative investments. As of 2020, the average price for a parking spot in Hong Kong was estimated at over HK$2 million. The unavailability of affordable parking spaces only adds to the list of reasons why maintaining a car in Hong Kong may not be an ideal option for everyone. Instead, the vast majority of the population relies on public transport for everyday mobility.
Smart Transportation in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, public transport accounts for around 90% of all passenger movements each day. In 2020, the average number of public transport journeys per day stood at 8.93 million, a significant drop from 12.44 million the year before due to the absence of overseas visitors amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The most frequently used modes of public transport included railways (3.58 million journeys each day), buses (3.04 million), minibuses (1.29 million), taxis (660,000), and ferries (86,000). The MTR Corporation was the largest public transport operator in terms of daily passenger carried (3.47 million), followed by Kowloon Motor Bus (2.12 million) and the Green Minibus fleet (1.11 million).
Around 95% of all people in Hong Kong are using the Octopus card for seamless travel on various modes of transport. Yet, different operators not only have their own fare systems in place, but also store and analyse their respective passenger travel data separately. Hence, transport experts have argued that the next generation of smart transportation will require a truly integrated cross-modal public transport services system, based on a shared data pool.
In December 2020, the Government’s Innovation and Technology Bureau released the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong 2.0, an update on the initial publication from 2017. The Blueprint comprises over 130 initiatives and strategies with a vision “to build a world-famed Smart Hong Kong characterised by a strong economy and high quality of living”.
Smart mobility makes up one of the six pillars of the Blueprint, with the key goal to implement an intelligent transport and traffic management system through smart data and technology. Planned initiatives include the implementation of free-flow tolling at all government-owned tunnels by 2024; pilot real-time adaptive traffic signal systems for pedestrians and vehicles; an arrival information system for green minibuses by 2022; as well as the trial and use of autonomous vehicles in various locations across the city.
Among the new additions to the revised Blueprint is a HK$1 billion Smart Traffic Fund, which was first introduced in the 2019 Policy Address and launched in the fiscal year 2020-21. The fund is managed by the Hong Kong Productivity Council and is aimed at supporting research and technology applications to improve traffic efficiency and safety in Hong Kong. To this end, the Blueprint 2.0 also envisions the development of a Traffic Data Analytics System to enhance traffic management capabilities, reduce road congestion and better protect road users. However, a timeline for implementation has not yet been confirmed.
Curbing Carbon Emissions
Besides leveraging data in a more efficient way, the Blueprint also lays out multiple action points to promote a more environmentally sustainable urban transport system. While improving energy efficiency in the building sector, as well as recycling and waste management strategy have long been Hong Kong’s top priorities in terms of sustainability, green mobility initiatives also play an important part in achieving the city’s ambitious carbon reduction targets over the next decade: Transportation is responsible for an estimated 20% of the SAR’s total emissions.
By 2030, Hong Kong aims to cut its carbon intensity by as much as 70% compared to the base year 2005, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Mobility-related measures directed towards this goal include making Hong Kong’s new towns more bicycle-friendly, upgrading ferry services with green technology applications, and electrifying public transport and commercial vehicles, starting with a HK$80 million pilot programme for electric minibuses in 2023. An additional HK$180 million have been allocated towards trial runs of single-deck electric buses.
When it comes to electric vehicle (EV) readiness, Hong Kong still has a considerable way to go in order to deliver on its goals. The percentage of e-vehicles among newly registered private cars has shown a significant increase over the past decade, from only 0.1% in 2010 to 12.4% in 2020. Yet, private e-vehicles still made up less than 3% (18,100) of the total number of private cars at the end of last year.
In March 2021, the Environment Bureau published the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles, setting a target to boost private e-vehicle registrations in Hong Kong while lowering the number of new registrations of internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicles to zero by 2035. Incentive measures for EV include first registration tax concessions; a 100% profits tax reduction on EV procurement expenditures for companies; lower licensing fees; as well as free charging services in public car parks.
However, the electrification of transport in Hong Kong is not without its challenges. Limited roadside space, unique topography and climate conditions, as well as the long daily operating hours of public transport vehicles pose a special set of requirements with regard to EV battery capacities and the installation of comprehensive charging infrastructure in the SAR.
A HK$200 million Green Tech Fund was announced in the 2020-21 Budget to support various R&D projects in areas such as green transport, including the development of a universal EV load management standard as well as second-life applications for EV batteries. Furthermore, the Government launched the “EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme” in October 2020 with a three-year runtime and a total volume of HK$2 billion, to retrofit existing private residential building car parks with EV charging stations. Overall, the Hong Kong Government is targeting a charging network of 5,000 public and 150,000 private charging facilities by 2025.
Hong Kong is currently pursuing a multitude of different projects and strategies to tackle the challenges of future mobility. Given the Government’s long-term political and financial commitment towards a smart and sustainable transport system, specialists in e-mobility and other green technologies may be able to benefit from new business opportunities in the SAR over the coming years.
By Hendrik Hillebrecht
Related Links
- Source: ACEA – Vehicles in use Europe (Jan 2021)
- Source: EnB – Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles
- Source: HKPC – Smart Traffic Fund
- Source: HKSARG – Press Release: EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme
- Source: HKSARG – Press Release: Green Tech Fund
- Source: ITB – Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint 2.0
- Source: Transport Department – Monthly Traffic and Transport Digest (March 2021)
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