Letters | How Hong Kong can get more electric buses on the road
- Readers discuss the transition to green transport, whether street art has a place in the city, and the importance of sunset clauses in pandemic legislation
As Hong Kong promotes green transport, the electric vehicle industry, including Hong Kong International Electric Vehicles (Holdings) Limited, has been dedicated to investing in and introducing electric buses tailored to the city.
Historically, efforts to increase charging infrastructure have focused on private electric cars, with little emphasis on commercial vehicles. The current approach of subsidising vehicle owners who install chargers is also proving insufficient.
The government should engage experienced operators as consultants to address the industry’s needs and provide economically viable solutions for commercial electric vehicle users.
However, Hong Kong has considerable privately owned land resources suitable for charging stations. We urge the government to expedite land use planning and work with power companies to increase power supply.
While the New Energy Transport Fund offers vehicle replacement subsidies, there is a cap of HK$12 million, among other restrictions.
Furthermore, applications to trial green transport technologies under the New Energy Transport Fund are currently approved on a quarterly basis, which hardly seems adequate.
The complex and opaque application process discourages potential applicants. Therefore, we strongly urge the simplification of the application procedures, enhancing transparency and expediting the process.
Also, the government should consider providing additional subsidies for commercial electric vehicles. In the initial phase of promoting vehicle electrification, operational incentives for electric commercial vehicles would strengthen the industry’s transition efforts and promote the adoption of new energy vehicles.
Currently, insurance companies are not keen on commercial electric vehicles, which means fewer insurance options for electric buses and higher premiums.
The government should introduce measures encouraging insurance companies to provide dedicated insurance solutions or lower premiums. This would incentivise more operators to switch to electric buses.
Commercial electric vehicles are an integral part of the transition to green transport. To accelerate their adoption, the government must provide more support.
Liz Liu, director, corporate communications, Hong Kong International Electric Vehicles (Holdings) Limited
Why Hong Kong shouldn’t dabble in ‘street art’
Graffiti – or a form of vandalism now euphemistically called “street art” – has been a symptom of urban failure in many Western cities for decades, alongside drugs and crime.
Anyone who lived in New York in the 1970s or 1980s would recall the rampant graffiti on walls, public housing, bridges and subway cars, coinciding with a period of runaway crime – from burglaries to murders – in the Big Apple.
It is just inexplicable that people would want to promote a symptom of urban decay and social failure like graffiti in our clean and proud city of Hong Kong.
It took New York years to crack down on crime: under the “broken windows” strategy of targeting low-level offences to prevent serious crimes, graffiti was cleaned up, and arrests were made for petty offences such as urinating in the streets or evading subway fares. Once the crime rate came down, New Yorkers were able to enjoy street life again.
W.S. Peng, Central
Pandemic regulation should have had a sunset clause
The underlying issue is the lack of a sunset clause in what should have been a temporary regulation. A sunset clause, in essence, is an expiry date ensuring a law does not remain in effect indefinitely.
Hong Kong deputies should address not only the specific concern about the health declaration requirement, but also the broader issue of sunset clauses, to ensure the national legislative framework is flexible, responsive and serves the best interests of our society.
Simon Wang, Kowloon Tong
