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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (May 20):
Question:
I have received complaints from members of the public pointing out that since the implementation of the Bus Service Rationalisation Plan (the Plan) by the Transport Department (TD), some franchised bus routes have been cancelled, bus trips of some routes have been cut and the situation of buses losing trips has become increasingly serious, thus causing inconvenience to passengers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of District Council (DC) districts in which the Plan had been implemented as at the end of April this year; whether TD had consulted the DCs concerned and passengers in advance; if it had, of the consultation outcome;
(b) of the total number of bus routes affected by the Plan in the past five years and, among them, the respective numbers of bus routes which were cancelled, which were truncated, had bus trips cut and had fewer buses serving; and
(c) whether it knows if various franchised bus companies have currently set aside stand-by buses and set up emergency vehicle deployment mechanisms to minimise the impact on bus services in the event of unforeseen incidents, such as breakdown of buses; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) With limited road space but large number of vehicles and pedestrians in Hong Kong, the public is very concerned about road traffic conditions and the impact of heavy traffic on the environment. To enable sustainable development of Hong Kong, the Government's transport strategy is to rationalise bus services with a view to meeting passengers' demand, enhancing the efficiency of the bus network as well as minimising traffic congestion and roadside air pollution. The Transport Department (TD) implements annually the bus service rationalisation plan in various districts taking into account the situation on the ground, including passengers' demand. Before introducing major bus rationalisation items, TD will normally consult the District Councils concerned and take into consideration their views before deciding whether such rationalisation items should be implemented as proposed or amendments should be made.
(b) Over the past five years (from 2004 to 2008), a number of new railways came into operation to provide the public with more choices of transport services. In response to changes in the demand of bus passengers, TD cancelled 44 bus routes, truncated 17 routes, reduced the frequency of 54 routes in the bus service rationalisation plans which were implemented over the past five years. Over the same period, TD also introduced 20 new routes and increased the frequency of 66 routes. The number of franchised buses in service decreased from 6,179 in end-2003 to 5,794 in end-2008.
(c) To maintain normal services as far as practicable, all franchised bus companies have set aside stand-by buses for deployment in case of general unexpected incidents. They have also devised operating procedures for bus deployment to cater for unexpected incidents.
Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Issued at HKT 13:27
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