“Advantages and disadvantages of using electric cars as a major type of transportation in Hong Kong”

In the past few years, there were a lot of discussions in Hong Kong about using electric cars as a primary type of transportation in this Asia’s World City. While it is commonly believed that electric vehicles (EV) have a number of positive sides, some scholars claim that there are still major disadvantages of using EV comparing to conventional cars (CV). In this essay, arguments from both sides are examined and my own opinion is provided.

There are numbers of researchers who advocate that the use of EV can decrease the negative impact of vehicles on the environment. According to research conducted by Elgowainy et al. (2009), EV produce almost two times less greenhouse gases (CO2) than the CV. Greenhouse gases are responsible for serious global warming problem (Carayannis, 2011). Therefore, using EV as a substitution of CV can help to solve the alarming global warming issue. In addition to decreasing greenhouse gases, another benefits of using EV is that it may enhance the quality of the air in the area. According to Mike Salisbury (2014), EV experience much more reduction in producing emission level of nitrogen oxides (NOX), a subject of air pollutant (Bell et al., 2012)., comparing to gasoline-fueled vehicles. Therefore, implementing more EV can help to address the air quality problem of Hong Kong. This might provide public health benefits to Hong Kong people. Adopting more EV in Hong Kong will give the worldwide contribution to solving such problems as global warming and air pollution.

Additionally to reduction of the car impact on the environment, another major point of using EV is that it can save money for the people who buy them. Even though the prices for EV cars are usually higher than for their competitors, in the long-term it gives monetary benefits for the owners. The total fuel cost for using EV is 3 times less than for using CV (Anair & Mahmassani, 2012). Moreover, there is a great amount of technologies coming every year in the sphere of electric cars, therefore the prices for EV cars will only decrease in the future (Salisbury, 2014). In addition to the fuel savings, in a lot of countries around the world there are tax reliefs for owners of the EV. For instance, in Hong Kong people who buy EV do not have to pay registration taxes (Shay, 2011). Therefore, one can come to the conclusion that buying electric car can help to maintain better the financial situation.

However, despite being more environmentally-friendly and expenditure-saving, some people consider using electric cars is not appropriate due to some of its disadvantages. One of them is the well-known fact that EV produce almost no sound on the road as they use electric engines. According to Sangberg (2012, p.212), “all-electric automobiles are so quiet at low speed in electric drive that they constitute a safety hazard for pedestrians and bicyclists”. Therefore, it might be dangeroues for people in Hong Kong due to many narrow places where people tend to cross the street without looking on the road. In addition to the streets, it is a known fact that there are lots of parks in Hong Kong. There is quite atmosphere in such places and if there is a conventional car, it can be easily identified due to its sound. However, if electric car goes nearby, people do not pay attention and negative consequences may arise.

The danger of the quiet sound is not the only problem of EV. Another is that EV users in Hong Kong might feel the lack of fast charging stations. According to the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong (2014), there are only 12 fast charging stations in the city. Therefore, people spend a lot of time not only charging their EV cars in usual stations, also it takes time to stay in a queue for fast charge. As a result, EV are said to be time-consuming in terms of charging.

It is clear that there are both pros and cons of using EV as a major type of transportation in Hong Kong. The idea of using electricity as a fuel might help to solve such issue as global warming as well as decreases the amount of pollutants in the air. Also, government encouragements and low prices for the EV fuel can save money for the EV owners. However, contemporary technologies and the adaption of them can not allow us to use EV for the whole potential. By this I mean that quiet sound of the car and the small amount of quick chargers cause several problems including time-consumption. However, since every year more and more people are engaged into being a social responsible citizen, the demand for EV as well as for electric technologies will be increasing.

Taking all these factors into consideration, my conclusion is that the implementation of EV to be the main type of transportation in Hong Kong is not yet comfortable and convenient. However, I believe that such idea will be more than acceptable in the future. By this I mean that with the development of technologies, the majority of the main disadvantages of EV as described above are likely to be solved.