As the HKSAR grows from a city of about 7 million in 2002 to a city of about 9 million in 2020, it must cope with the need to increase the supply of housing, transport, and other infrastructure-intensive services by nearly 30%. The expansion of transport services in an already densely populated and highly developed landscape threatens to seriously undermine the quality of life in the HKSAR, even if the economy remains strong and personal freedoms remain sufficiently secure. Hence, the need to make Hong Kong’s transport system more sustainable is vital for the entire community and not merely for planners and environmentalists.

It would be detrimental to the quality of life of Hong Kong people, as well as for the HKSAR’s aspirations to remain a “World City” if current Transport Bureau and Transport Department policy were to be the sole basis of dialogue on this issue.