Fostering Mobility in a Compact City –
Hong Kong’s Experience
Professor Anthony B.L. Cheung
Secretary for Transport and Housing
Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong – Some basic facts
 Population:
 7.3 million
 Landscape:
 Hilly and mountainous with
steep slopes
 Densely populated and highly
compact
 Congested traffic
2
Our strategy –
Promoting public transport
 Public Transport-based Policy
 90% of community uses public
transport to commute
 12 million passenger trips per
day
 Public Transport includes railway,
buses, public light buses, taxis,
trams and ferries
 Hong Kong Public Transport ranked
1st out of 84 cities (Arthur D Little’s
Urban Mobility Index)
3
Our strategy –
Promoting public transport
 Public transport strategy:
Railway as backbone
 By 2031, railway will cover:
 75% of residential areas
 85% of employment
opportunities
 Franchised buses providing
feeder services to the railway
network
4
“Railway as backbone” strategy
Complementary role of “walking”
 Hong Kong’s walking pattern 30% made at least one walk-only trip on
weekdays
 Over 70% walked to access a transport
mode and to reach destination after
alighting from vehicle
 Relying on Public Transport
 Diversity in our mobility system to cater for
different travel needs
 Walking and cycling as a mode of shortdistance commuting
5
Walking initiatives in Hong Kong
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Elevated Walkway System
Hillside Escalator System
Universal Accessibility Programme
Covered Walkway
Pedestrianisation Scheme
Elevated Walkway System
 Connectivity of skywalks
between office buildings,
residential complex and
shopping malls
 Avoid walking on the roadside
which filled with vehicular
emissions
Extensive walkway system in Central
 Pedestrians can access different
facilities through footbridges
7
Footbridges in Tsuen Wan – a
local community
Hillside Escalator System
 Densely populated districts
situated in hilly places
 Hillside escalator links and
elevator systems serve to
ensuring smooth mobility of
citizens
 Emerging of restaurants, bars
and moderns shops next to
hillside escalator system
“Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway
System”
Running through narrow streets up-hill and all the
way reaching the mid-level residential areas.
8
Universal Accessibility Programme
 Installation of barrier-free
facilities at public walkways
 Barrier-free living
environment in public housing
estates to facilitate people
with diverse mobility needs
Before
After
9
Covered Walkway
 Pedestrian walkways
connecting to major public
transport interchanges are
equipped with covers
 To facilitate the use of public
transport and the ease of
switching between modes in
the transportation
interchange
10
Covered walkway along our harbourfront
Pedestrianisation Scheme
 Giving road-use priority to
pedestrians, yet having due
regard to the right of other
road users
Full-time pedestrian precinct zone
Part-time Pedestrian Street
11
Footpaths widening works
Promotion of Cycling
 Cycling as green commuting
in New Towns and New
Development Areas
 Putting in place a trunk cycle
track network of over 80 km
 Improving existing cycling
tracks and facilities
 Promoting the importance of
cycling safety through
publicity and education
12
Challenges ahead
• While doing more to facilitate walkability and promoting
non-mechanised transport means, we cannot lose sight
of the need to extend our public transport system.
• Public Transportation Plus
• Public Transport complemented by walkability and
cycling-friendly measures
Public to change habit?
 Competing use of limited road
space between motorists,
pedestrians and cyclists
 Need to handle public request
for not changing commuting
habits and patterns
Bus route rationalisation scheme
 Opposing public opinions
14
Pedestrianisation projects
Way Ahead
• Mindset change in the community
• Reflecting on city life
15
Thank you
16