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Following is a question by the Hon Alice Mak Mei-kuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (February 11):
Question:
Recently, some trade union representatives have relayed to me that due to the remote location of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and the inadequacy of its external public transport services, the commuting hours of the staff working on the airport island (airport staff) are relatively long and the companies and organizations operating at the airport have all along encountered difficulties in recruiting enough staff. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers and frequencies of buses of the 24-hour and overnight franchised bus routes running between HKIA and the urban areas; whether the authorities will request the franchised bus companies concerned to enhance their services;
(2) whether it will request the franchised bus companies to increase the frequencies of the bus routes calling en route at the various facilities in HKIA, so as to cope with the transport demand of airport staff; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether it will request the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) to join hands with the franchised bus companies to provide more bus-bus interchange concessions for airport staff, such as fare concessions for bus passengers interchanging at the bus stops in the Lantau Link Toll Plaza for other bus routes bound for the urban areas; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) whether it knows if AA will provide 24-hour shuttle bus services for transporting airport staff to and from HKIA, Lantau Link Toll Plaza and the urban areas; if AA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) whether it knows if AA will establish a liaison group comprising representatives of AA, the Transport Department and trade unions for exchanging views on problems relating to the external transport for airport staff and putting forward solutions; if AA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Our consolidated reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Alice Mak Mei-kuen is as follows.
At present, there are a total of 34 franchised bus routes plying between the airport and urban area. Twenty-four of them are day-time routes, and the remaining 10 are overnight routes providing service after midnight. Passengers served include persons who work on the airport island. The operating hours and frequencies of the above bus routes are shown at Annex 1. The occupancy rate of overnight routes ranges between 18 per cent and 88 per cent. Routes with higher occupancy rate mainly serve Tseung Kwan O, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts.
As the operation of the airport gets busier and in order to further enhance the efficiency and service of the bus network serving the airport island, the Transport Department (TD) and franchised bus companies are proposing to introduce two new airport bus routes and one supplementary route, as well as enhance the frequencies or extend the service hours of five existing routes in the 2015-16 Route Development Programme. The proposals comprise routes serving various facilities of the airport (see Annex 2). TD will consult the district councils concerned on the above proposals from February 2015 onwards.
As the airport operates round the clock, there are about 180 employees' service routes arranged by employers on the airport island on top of franchised bus service in order to meet the traffic needs of their employees.
The Government attaches importance to the traffic needs of staff going on and off duty on the airport island. We hope that the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) takes the lead to maintain close contact with TD, public transport operators and business operators on the airport island with a view to improving the transport arrangements for staff travelling to and from the airport to address the needs. At the end of 2012, the AA set up an Airport Transportation Liaison Group (Liaison Group). Chaired by the AA, the Liaison Group comprises representatives from business operators on the airport island (i.e. the human resources personnel from major companies on the airport island), public transport operators and TD. The Liaison Group holds meetings regularly to apprehend the transport needs of airport staff, review the provision of public transport serving the airport island and discuss ways to enhance transport services to and from the airport. The AA also communicates with staff representatives directly to learn about their needs and comments.
The AA is now gathering information through questionnaires about the time that airport staff going on and off duty in the small hours, as well as their working places and residences, so that a systematic analysis of their transport needs can be made. The AA will then study, together with the business operators on the airport island, how to revamp employees' bus services in the small hours, and discuss with TD the feasibility of running late night express bus route (skipping Tung Chung) service. TD stands ready to facilitate transport service proposals based on service needs and will maintain close contact with the AA.
The Government has all along been encouraging franchised bus companies, after taking into account their respective operating and financial conditions, overall economic environment and passenger needs, to reduce fare or provide concessions as far as possible to help reduce passengers' travelling expenses. Currently, the Citybus Limited and Long Win Bus Company Limited are offering 54 bus-bus interchange schemes (see Annex 3) covering 25 routes for passengers travelling from/to the airport. Passengers can enjoy 12 of these schemes at the Lantau Link Toll Plaza. Moreover, the franchised bus companies are offering 10 per cent to 40 per cent (ranging from $3 to $21) fare concessions for airport staff under 12 routes (see Annex 4).
Ends/Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:21
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