Government revises traffic-related fees and fixed penalties
The Government announced today (July 9) a proposal to adjust four traffic-related fees, including tunnel tolls, licence fees for electric private cars, the maximum fee level of parking meters, and fixed penalties for traffic offences.
The spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "The 2025-26 Budget announced that the Government would focus on reviewing traffic charges and fixed penalties that have not been adjusted for many years. Our overall considerations are to enhance traffic management and maintain public fiscal discipline, reflecting the principles of 'cost recovery' and 'user pays'."
To this end, the Government has formulated a total of four legislative amendments:
(1) Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2025 - Adjustment of tunnel tolls
Adopting a science-based approach, the Government has reviewed the tolls for government tunnels and major roads, in the order of priority, adhering to four charging principles: traffic management needs, efficiency first, public transport first, and "user-pays". After comprehensively considering these four principles and the specific circumstances of each tunnel and major road, it has been decided to propose increasing the tolls for the Aberdeen Tunnel and Shing Mun Tunnels, and to introduce a toll for the use of the Central Kowloon Bypass. The new tolls for the Aberdeen Tunnel and Shing Mun Tunnels will be effective on September 21, 2025, while toll collection for the Central Kowloon Bypass will commence when it is fully commissioned in 2026. The toll scheme is summarised as follows:
(Fixed toll for all vehicles throughout the day)
(Fixed toll for all vehicles throughout the day)
(Yau Ma Tei Section Tunnel)
The spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "The tolls for the Aberdeen Tunnel and Shing Mun Tunnels have not been adjusted for 34 years, during which time inflation has exceeded 130 per cent, resulting in operational deficits. The $8 toll is expected to have a minimal impact on traffic, and the adjusted tolls will enable the tunnels to achieve break-even in operations. On the other hand, the Central Kowloon Bypass will alleviate the current traffic congestion on major trunk roads in Kowloon, offering a shorter route with higher speeds, making it highly attractive to drivers. If no toll is charged for the use of the Central Kowloon Bypass, it is expected that its utilisation rate will approach a saturation point shortly after its commissioning. Taking into account the views of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Transport (TP) and the community, and in order to attract more motorists to use the bypass and hence achieve an effective traffic diversion, the Government is proposing an $8 toll. The proposed toll level will effectively divert approximately 20 per cent of the overall traffic from saturated major roads in Kowloon, while reserving about 15 per cent of spare capacity of theCentral Kowloon Bypass to accommodate future traffic growth. It will also recover nearly 80 per cent of basic operational costs; and according to the efficiency-first principle, the fees payable by commercial and public transport vehicles will be consistent with the moderate toll charged for smaller private cars."
The spokesperson continued, "We have also reviewed other government tunnels and trunk roads in accordance with the four major principles. In summary, taking into account the traffic management needs and traffic flow of other government tunnels and trunk roads, the traffic flow of alternative routes, as well as future transport infrastructure projects related to each route, such as the commissioning of new alternative routes, we recommend maintaining the current tolling arrangements for the time being and reviewing them again at an appropriate time."
(2) Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulation 2025 - Rationalising the licence fee structure and levels for electric private cars
The existing licence fees for electric private cars are charged by vehicle unladen weight, and the licence fees for fuel-propelled private cars are about six times more than that for electric private cars. The Government proposes to revise the annual licence fee structure for electric private cars by charging licence fees based on their rated power. A five-tier licence fee structure for electric private cars based on their rated power will be introduced, and the fee levels will be suitably adjusted, which would take five phases over six years to complete, to align with technological advancements and practices in other regions. The new licence fee structure will take effect from November 1, 2025, and will apply to newly registered electric private cars, while existing electric private cars will be granted a four-month grace period. Details are as follows:
February 28, 2027
(with a 4-month grace period)
February 29, 2028
February 28, 2029
February 28, 2030
* The fee for a licence for four months is 35 per cent of that for an annual licence, plus an additional fee of $30.
Licence fee concessions will be offered to eligible disabled electric private car owners (see note).
The spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "Taking into account the views of the LegCo TP, the adjustment of electric private cars licence fees will be implemented in five phases to provide the public with a longer adaptation period. Upon adjustments, the new annual licence fee levels for electric private cars will still be 25 per cent (fifth tier) to 40 per cent (first tier) lower than the current licence fees for fuel-propelled vehicles, to continue encouraging motorists to switch to electric vehicles and promote environmental protection. According to the current type distribution of licensed electric private cars, 99 per cent of the vehicles fall within the first, second and third tiers, while the proportions of vehicles in the fourth and fifth tiers are only 1 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively. As electric vehicles become increasingly popular, with a wider range of brands and models available on the market, and given that electric vehicles have lower energy, repair and maintenance costs compared to fuel-propelled vehicles, we expect that electric vehicles will remain appealing to motorists even after the rationalisation of annual licence fee structure and levels."
(3) Road Traffic (Parking) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 - Adjustment of parking meter charges
To optimise the use of limited parking resources, the Government proposes to increase the maximum fee for metered parking from $2 per 15 minutes to $4 per 15 minutes, viz. a maximum fee of $16 per hour to increase the turnover of vehicles using metered parking spaces to meet the short-term parking needs of motorists. The new charges for metered parking spaces will take effect from September 28, 2025. The fees for metered parking spaces for goods vehicles, buses and coaches will be maintained at the existing level.
(4) Proposed Motion for Resolutions under the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance (Cap. 237) and the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance (Cap. 240) - Adjustment of fixed penalties for traffic offences
To enhance traffic safety and ensure a smooth traffic flow, the Government proposes to increase the fixed penalty for illegal parking from the current $320 to $400 (a 25 per cent increase). The fixed penalties for 19 other traffic offences related to road safety and traffic congestion (details in the Annex) will be increased from the current range of $320 to $1,000 to a new range of $480 to $1,500 (a 50 per cent increase). The penalty amounts for other traffic offences will remain unchanged.
The spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "The fixed penalty levels for illegal parking and most of the traffic contraventions have remained unchanged for 31 years, and their deterrent effect may have been offset by inflation during this period. In fact, the fixed penalty levels of traffic contraventions in Hong Kong are much lower than those of various overseas regions. We have observed that the numbers of certain traffic offences continue to trend upwards or remain at a persistently high level. Adjusting the penalty amounts for these traffic offences will help enhance the deterrent effect, thereby safeguarding traffic safety and maintaining smooth traffic flow. At the same time, the Government will strive to increase the supply of parking spaces to meet parking demand as far as possible."
The Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2025, the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulation 2025, and the Road Traffic (Parking) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 will be gazetted on July 18 and tabled at the LegCo on July 23 for negative vetting. As for the penalties for traffic violations under the Schedules to the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance (Cap. 237) and the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance (Cap. 240), the LegCo may amend them by resolution under positive vetting. The Secretary for Transport and Logistics will move a motion at the LegCo meeting on July 30 to pass the resolutions. The regulatory details and effective dates are specified in respective amendment regulations and the proposed resolutions, and relevant information is set out in the LegCo brief issued by the Government today.
Note:No licence fee shall be payable where the rated power of an electric private car owned by an eligible disabled person does not exceed 75 kilowatts. Where the rated power of the electric private car exceeds 75 kilowatts, the annual licence fee payable shall be calculated by the deduction from the prescribed annual licence fee payable in respect of its rated power which does not exceed 75 kilowatts.
