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Following is a question by the Hon Miriam Lau Kin-yee and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (January 7):
Question:
It was reported that within one day on December 10 last year three buses caught fire or emitted smoke while in motion and such a situation has given rise to public concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of accidents of buses catching fire in each of the past five years and their respective causes;
(b) whether it has recently discussed with franchised bus companies how to step up regular maintenance and inspection of buses, with a view to reducing accidents of buses catching fire;
(c) whether it knows the respective numbers of buses in the existing fleets of Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited, Citybus Limited and New World First Bus Services Limited, together with a breakdown of these buses by their age (under three years, three to under six years, six to under 10 years, and over 10 years) and their respective percentages; and
(d) whether it knows the details of the bus replacement programmes of the above franchised bus companies for the next five years; and whether it will urge franchised bus companies to make reference to the practice in some European countries and install automatic foam fire extinguishing systems on buses, so as to strengthen the protection for passengers' safety?
Reply:
President,
(a) The number of bus fire incidents in each of the past five years is as follows:
2004 : 11
2005 : 9
2006 : 16
2007 : 9
2008 : 19
The major cause of bus fire incidents is oil hose leakage (34%). Other causes include short circuit (20%), engine failure (13%), alternator failure (11%), air-conditioning system breakdown (5%) and others (17%).
(b) The Transport Department (TD) has all along been requiring franchised bus companies to comply with safety requirements and monitoring regularly the quality and maintenance standards of their buses. Apart from monthly routine checks conducted by the bus companies, every bus has to pass TD's annual comprehensive examination before its licence is renewed. To monitor the maintenance work of the bus companies, TD deploys Vehicle Examiners to conduct bus inspections and carry out random checks on serving buses at bus depots on every working day. TD also holds regular meetings with the bus operators to discuss bus examination results and, where appropriate, to formulate measures to enhance bus safety.
In the light of the recent bus smoke/fire incidents, TD has instructed the franchised bus companies concerned to submit investigation reports. TD also met with their Engineering Heads immediately and asked the companies to carry out thorough checks on buses of the same model to ensure safety. In parallel, TD has stepped up spot checks on buses which have just gone through monthly routine inspection to ensure that they are maintained properly and meet safety standards.
(c) The respective numbers of buses in the existing fleets of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB), Citybus Limited (Citybus) and New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) with a breakdown of these buses by age and their respective percentages in the fleets are in the Annex.
(d) TD is now discussing the Five Year Forward Planning Programmes (which include plans and proposals regarding the retirement of older buses and purchase of new ones) with the franchised bus companies, and adjustments may be made to the Programmes. We therefore cannot provide at this stage the specific number of buses that will be replaced. In general, TD will discuss with the franchised bus companies to determine the numbers of buses to be purchased and retired yearly, taking into account factors such as passenger demand as well as improvements to roadside air quality, bus safety and the public transport network, etc.
TD attaches great importance to the fire-fighting system on franchised buses. The Department is now working with the bus companies on a number of options, such as the automatic fire extinguishing system, automatic shutdown of air-conditioning ventilation system in case of fire and enhancement of the fire protection zone, in order to further safeguard the safety of bus passengers.
Ends/Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:46
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