The use of Intelligent Transport Systems has proven effective at relieving congestion, Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works Joshua Law says, adding the speed of cross-harbour traffic has improved 4%.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 8th Asia-Pacific ITS Forum & Exhibition today, Mr Law said the system plays an important role in the pursuit of the Government's policy objectives of maintaining a safe and reliable transport system. He said Hong Kong's busy and compact road network makes handling of emergencies with traffic impact highly challenging.

Rapid response is of paramount importance in reducing the build-up of a gridlock, especially when unforeseen incidents occur on major inter-connected routes within short intervals.

"In handling traffic emergencies, we have improved facilities and introduced new features in the Transport Department's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre. We are now using digital 'incident maps' to collate information from different sources to assess the severity and spread of congestion. We have also put in place a web-based incident management communication system to enhance communication and co-ordination amongst Government departments," Mr Law said.

"We have improved the design of the Transport Department's hompage and commissioned the PDA version of the homepage to make it easier for the public to check the latest traffic conditions and special traffic news."

These improved features have proven to be effective in providing speedy response to traffic incidents during not only emergencies, but also major events like the WTO 6th Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong last December.

The use of the system to relieve congestion also proved to be effective. Digital journey time indicators are installed at major trunk roads on Hong Kong Island to give motorists an informed choice on which cross-harbour tunnel to use based on the latest traffic situation.