Trial Use of Octopus Cards on Parking Meters Extended

The trial scheme on the use of Octopus cards for payment of parking meter fees will be extended to mid September this (2001) year to further test the performance of the parking meters in the hot and wet summer.

A spokesman for the Transport Department (TD) said the trial launched as from November 2000 had been conducted smoothly, and the 12-month trials of two other electronic payment cards - Mondex and Visa Cash were ended in March this year.

"When the trial of Octopus cards is completed, TD will fully evaluate the results of the three trials before deciding on the way forward in opening up the parking meters to accept suitable reloadable smart cards," he added.

Multi-bay and single-bay Octopus-operated parking meters are currently put on trial at 200 parking spaces in Causeway Bay, North Point, Mong Kok and Ho Man Tin.

End/Thursday, May 17, 2001