 |
Convenience plus: Roadside parking meters will be replaced with Octopus card-operated ones to make payment quicker and easier. |
|
|
There will soon be another convenient application for Octopus cards: The Transport Department will begin replacing about 17,000 roadside meters with ones the ubiquitous smart card can operate.
The first batch of 1,700 parking meters, located in busy areas like Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Happy Valley, Hong Kong East, Ho Man Tin, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan, will be installed this Sunday (June 29).
The whole replacement scheme will be completed in 2005.
Speaking at a press conference today, Assistant Commissioner for Transport Stephen Ip said the move aims to give motorists more convenience and enhance parking meters' performance.
Payment of parking fees will also made more easy, he added.
At present, there are more than 9 million Octopus cards in circulation. They are commonly used on modes of public transport, at carparks, for shopping and various other applications for payment.
Leaflets on how to use Octopus card parking meters are available at the department's licensing offices and government multi-storey carparks.
On-site staff will also be deployed at the beginning of the replacement period to offer assistance to motorists.
The existing electronically operated parking meters were installed in 1998 and are nearing the end of their useable life this year.
A trial scheme of the Octopus-card-operated parking-meter scheme was successfully implemented between 2000 and 2001.
Enquiries about Octopus card-operated parking meters can be made at 2318 0616.
Go To Top
|
