The feasibility study of implementation of ERP system in tackling traffic congestion in Hong Kong

Abstract

Though billions of dollars has been spent on traffic infrastructure in Hong Kong for the past decades, it is still an unsolved traffic problem. Especially in peak hours, vehicles have to pay for the traffic congestion in the way of waiting time and air pollution. The public is interested in congestion pricing as it is effective in allocating resource. Also the revenues raised in road pricing can be used to invest in transport infrastructures which will benefit the whole society, especially in Hong Kong where more than 90% trips are taken by public transit. The existing policy is that growth in the private vehicle fleet should not exceed 3% per year. Currently, the increase rate of private vehicles is much higher than 3%. This generates the need to do the feasibility of ERP system in tackling congestion in Hong Kong. The ERP system is not a new term for the public as the Hong Kong Government has done two studies about road pricing in 1983 and 1998. However, the studies did not promote the implementation of ERP system in Hong Kong for various reasons. At the same time, the ERP system has been tested successful in many areas, such as Singapore and London. Lessons learnt from the two cases will guide the implantation of ERP system in Hong Kong. The study is conducted to evaluate the proposed implementation of the ERP system and attempts to recommend on future practices in order to achieve a more efficient, equitable and flexible means of managing the road space particularly in congested areas during busy hours. Questionnaire surveys will be conducted to get data for analysis of effect of ERP system. Combined with analysis of supply of transport infrastructure in next five years, the research finding is that the ERP system is not proper to be adopt to solve traffic congestion in Hong Kong.