Following my semester abroad in Hong Kong, I finally understood why Hong Kong was regarded as the world’s leading transportation hubs (The Standard, 2025). With the city’s public transportation system carrying 11.7 million journeys every day in 2024 (Gov.HK, 2024), this highlights how heavily people in Hong Kong rely on public transport to get around in their day. This movement to encourage over 90% of the city’s population to use their extensive public transportation (The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2026) can be seen as very successful in comparison with other countries such as the UK, where a majority of trips were made using private vehicles (Gov.UK, 2025).
The MTR has 10 heavy rail lines and carries over 5 million passengers daily (Ko, 2019), quickly became my favourite way of travelling around the city. It captures many voices, perspectives, and stories. It feels quite emotional to have crossed paths with many commuters, whether they were individuals commuting to work or tourists travelling to hike Hong Kong’s beautiful mountains. This made me realise that, as a tourist to this amazing city, I should appreciate the natural landscape that has been carefully managed and preserved to protect it for future generations. Although Hong Kong city is incredibly densely populated, the heavy use of public transport reduces congestion and lowers emissions. I loved how easy it was getting around using the MTR, I had not realised how reliant I had become on it. Experiencing the efficient public transportation in Hong Kong made me completely rethink my transportation choices in Glasgow. Why do I drive even though I have access to buses and trains? Should I make use of these services more in Glasgow? These thoughts have made me think more critically about sustainable mobility, and taking public transport can contribute to a cleaner city. This exchange experience directly aligns to UNSDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) where this encourages inclusive and safe transportation network, alongside UNSDG 13 (Climate Action) which encourages actions to tackle climate change (United Nations, 2026).
References:
Gov.HK. (2024) Transport. Available at: https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/transport.pdf (Accessed: 11 July 2026).
Gov.UK. (2025) Transportation Statistics Great Britain: 2024 Summary. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-statistics-great-britain-2025/transport-statistics-great-britain-2024-summary (Accessed: 11 July 2026).
Ko, S. (2019) Development of Mass Transit Railway Systems in Hong Kong: Rail Plus
Property Model of MTR Corporation. Available at: https://sk.sagepub.com/cases/mass-
transit-railway-systems-hong-kong-rail-plus-property-mtr-corp(Accessed: 16 February
2026).
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (2026) Introduction. Available at: https://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in_hong_kong/its/introduction/index.html (Accessed 11 July 2026).
The Standard. (2025) HK outshines 19 global cities to claim best transportation hub title. Available at: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/news/article/230834/HK-outshines-19-global-cities-to-claim-best-transport-hub-title (Accessed: 11 July 2026).
United Nations. (2026) The 17 Goals. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed: 12 July 2026).
