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Several Hong Kong minibus drivers have inflated the transport fares at the destination toward the Cross-Harbour Tunnel after the toll fee suddenly changed from HK$10 to HK$50 on Sunday.
The chairman of the Hong Kong Public-light Bus Owner and Driver Association Cheung Hon-wah said on Monday that fares for eight minibus destinations have been increased by between HK$2 and HK$6, and the same could be done for other services.
Cheung said on an RTHK programme “It’s because we haven't encountered price spikes for a long time. If the government has to increase prices, we have no choice but to increase fares as well, to make up for the losses".
“We don't want to increase fares by too much or we will lose customers to bus operators. All increased fees will go to the tunnel operators, drivers won't get anything more,” he added.
Cheung urged the government to reduce the new fee, which applies to all three cross-harbour tunnels, to around HK$20.
Meanwhile, Ringo Lee, vice-president of the Hong Kong, China Automobile Association, said new dynamic pricing for private cars and motorcycles using the three tunnels, which also came into effect on Sunday, is "too complicated" for motorists, and the government should review the arrangements after three months or half a year.
“I'm urging every driver not to be in a rush simply because of the price increases. If you want to save money, then please go earlier or later. But if you can't change your commute time and have to go during peak hours, you'll need to accept the fact that you may pay up to about 40 dollars. I hope drivers will still be careful and won't be affected by the price changes too much. Safety is the most important thing,” he added.
In response to concerns about the new tolls, Transport Secretary Lam Sai-hung said the prices are reasonable.
“Everybody should know that charges for minibuses at the three harbour tunnels differed before we adjusted the charges. Now we charge them 40 dollars for the three tunnels. Prices rose at some tunnels but fell at others. In the past, the average charge was about 44 to 45 dollars, which was similar to the current level,” he said.
Lam said the government will keep monitoring traffic flow at the three tunnels, adding that the situation appeared to be smooth on Monday morning.
部分香港小巴營辦商因過路費上漲而提高票價
週日，過路費突然由10港元改為50港元，數名香港小巴司機提高了目的地往紅磡海底隧道的交通票價。
香港公共小巴車主及司機聯會主席張漢華週一表示，8個小巴目的地的票價已調高2至6港元，其他服務也可採取同樣的做法。
張在香港電台節目中表示：「這是因為我們已經很久沒有遇到價格飆升的情況了。
如果政府要漲價，我們只能漲價，以彌補損失。”
「我們不想將票價提高太多，否則我們將失去乘客給巴士業者。 所有增加的費用將歸隧道運營商所有，司機將不會得到任何更多，」他補充道。
張敦促政府將適用於所有三條海底隧道的新收費降低至20港元左右。
同時，中國香港汽車協會副會長李林格表示，週日生效的針對使用這三個隧道的私家車和摩托車的新動態定價對於駕駛者和政府來說「太複雜」應在三個月或半年後重新檢視安排。
「我敦促每位司機不要僅僅因為價格上漲而匆忙。 如果你想省錢，那麼請早點或晚點去。 但如果您無法更改通勤時間並且必須在高峰時段出行，則需要接受這樣的事實：您可能需要支付高達約 40 美元的費用。 希望各位司機朋友還是要小心，不要因為價格變動而受到太大的影響。 安全是最重要的。」他補充道。
針對對新收費的擔憂，運輸局局長林世雄表示，價格合理。
「大家應該知道，在我們調整收費之前，三條海底隧道的小巴收費是不同的。 現在我們向他們收取這三個隧道40美元的費用。 一些隧道的價格上漲，但另一些隧道的價格則下降。 過去，平均收費約為 44 至 45 美元，與當前水平相似。”
林鄭月娥表示，政府將繼續監察三條隧道的交通流量，並補充說週一早上的情況似乎很順利。
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