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LCQ8: Public Transport Interchanges
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     Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 8):

Question:

     Some members of the public and members of the transport industry have complained to me that quite a number of semi-confined public transport interchanges (PTIs) mainly for use by franchised buses have outdated designs.  For instance, at the PTIs, the illumination was insufficient, pedestrian crossings were narrow, the road signs were unclear, barrier-free facilities were inadequate, and the ventilation was insufficient, resulting in passengers having to wait to board in PTIs with stuffy and polluted air.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)¡@in respect of the various PTIs at present, of (i) their locations, (ii) their years of commissioning, (iii) the numbers of bus routes that can be accommodated there, (iv) the maximum numbers of waiting passengers that can be accommodated there, and (v) the numbers of complaints received last year and their contents, with a breakdown by name of PTI set out in a table;

(b)¡@of the respective design standards for the illumination level, the width of pedestrian crossing facilities (including pedestrian crossings between bus bays) and traffic signs of the PTIs;

(c)¡@whether it has updated the design standards and guidelines regarding the ventilation systems of PTIs in the recent three years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities have regularly monitored the air quality of various PTIs, so as to safeguard the health of passengers waiting to board; and

(d)¡@whether it will invite members of the transport industry and other relevant stakeholders (including bus companies, bus drivers, trade unions of the transport industry and passenger representatives) to participate in a comprehensive review of the designs of PTIs, and formulate improvement plans and work schedule; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider conducting studies on improvement plans, so as to safeguard the health and safety of passengers waiting to board and bus drivers using PTIs?

Reply:

President,

     Currently, there are 59 Government-owned covered public transport interchanges (PTIs) in Hong Kong, facilitating passengers in interchanging between different modes of public transport.  Our reply to the various parts of Hon Wong Kwok-hing's question is as follows:

(a)¡@The location of the Government-owned covered PTIs, the year in which they were opened, the number of bus/green minibus (GMB) routes using these PTIs, as well as the number and nature of complaints concerning the PTIs received last year are at Annex.

     The number of passengers waiting at a PTI is constantly affected by many factors such as the service frequency of different routes and boarding / alighting time of passengers.  Even if a queue is formed, it will very often be shortened rapidly once the bus or GMB arrives.  Therefore, the Transport Department (TD) does not set a ceiling for the number of waiting passengers.  In any event, no complaint on over-crowding at PTIs was received from passengers last year.

(b)  In normal circumstances, the minimum illumination level should be 120 Lux (Note) for a covered PTI and 150 Lux for one at a commercial complex or connecting a railway station with heavy pedestrian flow.  Such standards have struck a balance between passenger need and energy saving, and are comparable to those adopted for similar facilities at some neighbouring economies (such as the Mainland, Taiwan and Singapore).  Currently, the illumination level at all covered PTIs meet these standards.

     As far as pedestrian crossing facilities at PTIs are concerned, the Government would base on the current planning and design standards consider adopting peripheral saw-tooth design for platforms at new PTIs as far as possible, taking into account the location, traffic flow direction, arrangement of bus routes, etc. of the PTI concerned.   Such platform design will facilitate passengers to board / alight without having to cross the carriageways and other boarding platforms.  As for the traditional bus platforms with parallel boarding bays, pedestrian crossing path marked with 1.5-metre-wide yellow strips together with refuges will be provided.  In addition, alternate black-and-white-striped markings will be painted at both ends of the boarding platforms for easier identification by the road users.

     All the traffic signs and road markings used at PTIs have to be installed in compliance with the requirements as stipulated in the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) and its regulations.

     Separately, the Government strives to provide barrier-free access facilities at PTIs to assist pedestrians and persons in need to access boarding platforms.  These facilities include tactile guide paths, tactile warning strips, dropped kerbs, access ramps, reserved waiting areas for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) on boarding platforms and pedestrian crossing paths for accessing boarding platforms. As at end 2013, these facilities were provided at 58 PTIs.  The remaining one PTI will be retrofitted with these facilities within this year.

(c)  The Environmental Protection Department issued the Practice Note on "Control of Air Pollution in Semi-confined Public Transport Interchanges" in 1998 for reference by professionals and government departments.  The Practice Note is subject to review from time to time and is still valid.  It provides guidance on the design, ventilation system, operation, maintenance and air quality (including the maximum concentration of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide) of semi-confined PTIs.  The Government has been setting the specific requirements on the engineering design of the ventilation system, operation and maintenance of PTIs in accordance with the Practice Note and the actual situation of individual PTIs.  Meanwhile, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department conducts air quality measurement at Government-owned covered PTIs on a regular basis and makes the necessary improvements.

(d)  The Government strives to improve the waiting environment at PTIs and would implement appropriate improvement measures.  Between 2010 and October 2013, the Government completed works to enhance the waiting environment and facilities at more than 40 PTIs.  The works mainly involve improvements to the lighting system, ventilation system and barrier-free access facilities.  Besides, TD communicates with members of the transport trades and other stakeholders (including bus/GMB operators, the taxi and public light bus trades, bus captain unions, district councils, urban design professional bodies and PwD groups) from time to time to exchange views on the daily operational arrangement, design and facilities of covered PTIs.  Appropriate improvement measures will be implemented where practicable.

Note:"Lux" is the international unit for measuring illuminance. The typical household illuminance is approximately 100 lux.

Ends/Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:31

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