Hong Kong media report that a survey has ranked Hong Kong as the world's best city for transport, though it lags behind in cycle lanes and air quality.
According to a South China Morning Post report on April 2, the survey covered 84 major cities worldwide. It said Hong Kong has "the world's most advanced urban transport system," with public transport the main mode of travel and one of the lowest numbers of registered cars per capita of any city in the world.
Hong Kong also topped the previous urban transport survey in 2011. In 2014, Hong Kong scored 58.2 out of 100, followed by Stockholm with 54.7, Amsterdam in third, Copenhagen fourth, Vienna fifth and Singapore sixth.
In the survey, London ranked 9th, Tokyo 19th, Beijing 28th and Guangzhou close behind at 29th.
The report, titled the Urban Transport Index, was produced by international consultancy Arthur D. Little. It said Hong Kong's metro system is "impressive" and that the widespread use of the Octopus card has helped Hong Kong secure its place as the best transport city. "Hong Kong's dense population is solved by the metro rather than becoming a burden on the city," the report said.
The report said Hong Kong "sets a good example in developing an effective transport system," but also noted that its transport still relies mainly on one mode—the metro.
Although Hong Kong performed well on various indices in the survey, among the top 11 cities it had the lowest score for cycle lanes. Hong Kong has only 187 km of cycle lanes per 1,000 square kilometres of land, compared with 4,041 km in Stockholm, 3,501 km in Amsterdam and 280 km in Singapore.
Hong Kong performed poorly on air quality. Its average annual traffic-related nitrogen dioxide emissions are 50 micrograms per cubic metre, with PM10 in the air at 50 micrograms per cubic metre.
Official data show that nitrogen dioxide emissions on Hong Kong roads have increased by a quarter since 2006.
Martin Turner, chairman of the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance, said Hong Kong's small size gives it great potential to become a bicycle-friendly city, and the government should no longer treat cycling as a leisure activity.
The report said he welcomed the government's moves to improve and build cycle lanes in the New Territories, and said the government should do more to build a cycle lane network connecting other areas.
"We shouldn't think Hong Kong is the best transport city and ignore cycling," he said.
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