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There are just too many cars in Hong Kong. Traffic jams that clog city roads are common not only during rush hours. Exhaust from these four-wheeled monsters, snaking their way through narrow streets, is polluting the air and emitting a dense toxic haze that irritates the eyes and chafes the skin.

For years, the government and so-called environmental experts have ignored the threat to public health by the rising car population. They preferred to attribute the cause of pollution to everything else than the powerful sports cars and lumbering SUVs beloved by the social elites, including many amateur environmentalists who embraced the cause because it's fashionable.

Sparing these toxic-spilling cars, some "environmentalists" and health freaks got all worked up at one time blaming smokers for fouling the air on the streets and in city parks while they drove their families in monstrous SUVs to country parks for fresh air. Such hypocrisy can no longer hide under the cloak of indifference as the damage done to the environment by the proliferation of cars can no longer be ignored. This has prompted the government to consider tougher measures to dampen the growth of this menace.

Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-leung earlier said the government is re-considering introducing road taxes and other measures to check the increase in the number of cars. Although road taxes are common among other major cities, there has been strong opposition in Hong Kong to this sensible levy from numerous powerful groups, who can exert considerable influence on government policy.

Cheung said that the government is considering selecting areas for the introduction of road taxes. A number of areas immediately spring to mind. Central is the obvious first choice, followed by Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.

The government can expect strong opposition to the proposal by businesses in these districts. Fewer cars on the roads could be good for business, but the bosses and highly paid executives there may find the tax objectionable and unfair even though they can afford it.

It is important for the government to stand firm on this issue because, as Cheung noted, allowing the number of vehicle to increase unimpeded is untenable. Building more roads is not a viable solution. The more roads built the more cars there will be. There is a limit to how many more roads can be built in land-scarce Hong Kong.

Apparently, inconvenience does not seem to be a deterrent to car ownership in Hong Kong. Busy traffic and a shortage of parking space have done little to discourage people from buying and using their cars although everyone complains about the poor air quality.

Stronger measures are clearly needed to make car ownership a pain to many more people other than the diehard enthusiasts and super rich. Other than road taxes, the government may want to consider raising car registration fees and, more effectively, closing off more roads in the commercial districts to motor cars. These pedestrian-only roads should be most welcome to shoppers as well as tourists.

Car ownership must be seen as a luxury in Hong Kong where public transport is well-developed and efficient. They are much cheaper and a lot cleaner than private cars.

The author is a senior editor with China Daily. [email protected]

(HK Edition 03/03/2014 page9)