Transport sustainability in Hong Kong: safeguarding its future

By most definitions of sustainable transport, Hong Kong is currently at the sustainable end of the spectrum because of its low levels of car ownership and use and concomitantly high levels of use of public transport. This paper argues, however, that there are two major threats to this position. The first is the increasing extent of the integration with the Chinese Mainland and the subsequent diminution of the strength of the borders between Hong Kong and the Mainland. The second is the aspirations and intentions of young Hong Kong residents to become car owners in the future. Without increased measures to curb car ownership and use, it is argued that the sustainability of Hong Kong's transport could easily decline, leading particularly to massive problems of environmental pollution.