The franchisee of Route 3 is entitled to raise its toll without the Government's permission under the law, while the Chief Executive in Council has already taken into account lawmakers' views in approving Tate's Cairn Tunnel's toll hike, Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works Annie Choi says.

Route 3 will raise its toll on June 19, while the toll hike for Tate's Cairn Tunnel will be effective August 1.

Ms Choi told lawmakers this morning that under the Tai Lam Tunnel & Yuen Long Approach Road Ordinance, the Route 3 franchisee was entitled to raise its toll in January 2002, but considering the economic conditions at that time, the franchisee agreed to defer the increase.

She said recently, despite efforts by the franchisee to attract motorists to use Route 3, the toll revenue has continued to fall short of what is needed to put the company in a healthy financial position. The franchisee therefore decided to bring its toll hike into effect on June 19.

Ms Choi pointed out the franchisee has complied with the ordinance to effect the proposed toll increase, while the bureau has reminded the franchisee the general state of Hong Kong's economy has just shown signs of recovery, and the public mood remains firmly against any toll increase.

1,000 vehicles to change route

The bureau has also urged the franchisee to have due regard to the wider public interest in devising its tolling strategy, she said.

Ms Choi said the franchisee has decided to retain the existing concessionary tolls for motorcycles, medium and heavy goods vehicles and vehicles with additional axles, adding it will continue to offer concessions to private cars, taxis and light goods vehicles.

She estimated about 1,000 vehicles will be diverted to Tuen Mun Road and Tolo Highway as a result of Route 3's toll hike, stressing the traffic impact should be minimal as the magnitude of the increase is insignificant. The situation will be closely monitored.

Ms Choi said the bureau is also discussing with the franchisee the feasibility of building access roads to Route 3, to alleviate the traffic load after the completion of the Shenzhen-NT West corridor and to raise Route 3's traffic flow.

Application deferred 3 times

Turning to Tate's Cairn tunnel, Ms Choi said the franchisee applied for a toll hike in October 2000, but at the bureau's request agreed to defer the application three times due to the poor economic situation.

In October last year, the franchisee again applied for a toll increase, stating by the end of June 2004, it had accumulated losses of $453 million. The Legislative Council was consulted on the issue in February this year.

After considering all parties' views, the Chief Executive in Council has agreed to the toll increase with effect from August 1, she added.

Ms Choi said the tunnel has an average daily throughput of 61,200, against its design capacity of 78,500. It is estimated that with the proposed toll hike, about 940 vehicles will be diverted to Lion Rock Tunnel and 260 to Tai Po Road each day, which will aggravate the traffic congestion along the two roads.

Buying back franchise not considered

The Lion Rock Tunnel's traffic load has been alleviated after the opening of the Ma On Shan Rail in December last year, adding Route 8 between Shatin and Cheung Sha Wan to be opened in late 2007 should offer further relief.

Ms Choi added if the toll increase application were rejected, the franchisee could resort to arbitration.