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Following is a transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, at a media stand-up session after attending a radio programme today (May 5):
Reporter: Regarding the body check for drivers and boat captains, is there a timetable for you to roll out that scheme? And the other thing is, do you think the mandatory body check scheme will impose more pressure on the ship companies or bus companies?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: Indeed, the Government is conducting a review on body (health) check requirements for people involved in driving vehicles, and by extension people, those coxswains of ferries and vessels. We realise that particularly for so-called commercial drivers, their operating costs might as a result be increased. So we have been listening to the views of operators. For bus drivers, for example, the Transport Department has been in contact with the franchised bus companies on how to take things forward. But our overriding principle is to maintain a high standard of safety, which is not just for the sake of passengers, but also for the sake of the drivers, the coxswains themselves. We hope that the review will be completed within one year. And in the process of course, we will listen very carefully to feedbacks from various stakeholders in the industry.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Sunday, May 5, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:13
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