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At the meeting held this (February 27) afternoon, the Transport Advisory Committee (TAC) discussed the Administration's proposal to develop and implement an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Strategy in Hong Kong.

Dr Cheng Hon-kwan, the Chairman of TAC, said: "The use of intelligent transport systems has had a long history in Hong Kong. Stand-alone systems such as the Area Traffic Control System and Autotoll have been in operation here for many years.

"What we need is a comprehensive and integrated ITS Strategy to enhance the safety, efficiency, reliability, user and environmental friendliness of our transport system."

Members noted that the proposed ITS Strategy comprised the development of a central database known as the Transport Information System, and the adoption of a new Traffic Management Framework, which included the setting up of a Traffic Management and Information Centre to take centralised control of the traffic control and surveillance facilities all over the territory. This would also open up opportunities for the private sector to make use of the real-time traffic information available from these systems to provide tailor-made services to individual or organisational road users.

"We see the Transport Information System becoming an integral part of the information infrastructure in Hong Kong. The public will benefit from the reliable, accurate and timely traffic information which will facilitate their pre-trip planning.

"Private sector service providers could make use of such information to develop value-added services for the use of individual motorists or fleet managers. This will help improve the overall efficiency of our community," Dr Cheng said.

Experiences in overseas countries such as the U.S.A. and Japan indicate that with ITS, travel time could be reduced by 20 per cent to 40 per cent, road capacity could be increased by 17 per cent to 25 per cent, accident rate could be reduced by 15 per cent to 50 per cent, and fuel consumption could be decreased by 40 per cent. The implementation of the ITS Strategy in Hong Kong is expected to span over the next ten years.

"The implementation of ITS is now an established trend in developed countries. Hong Kong would need to keep up the pace to maintain her competitiveness. The TAC would like to see the early implementation of the ITS Strategy", he said.

At the same meeting, the TAC was also briefed on the details of the Stage One Consultation of the Hong Kong 2030: Planning Vision and Strategy.

"We note that one of the key planning objectives is the development of a safe, efficient, economically viable and environmentally friendly transport system. We look forward to receiving concrete proposals from the Administration on how best to implement this objective as the Study proceeds," Dr Cheng said.

END/Tuesday, February 27, 2001

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