**********************************************************
Following are the speaking points by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in a panel session on advancing inclusive mobility at the 9th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Ministerial Meeting in Cebu, the Philippines, today (October 9):
In Hong Kong, our policy vision is to enhance the livability, sustainability, mobility and connectivity of our city.
We aim to provide a safe, efficient, accessible and environmentally friendly transport system that meets the community's economic and social needs. These values intertwine with and embrace precisely the theme of this session: "Advancing inclusive mobility".
We see "inclusive mobility" as comprising three key elements: accessibility, affordability and barrier-free.
Accessibility to a reliable and convenient public transport system is the key to enhancing people's mobility.
Hong Kong has developed an extensive public transport-based system with multi-modal choices including railway, franchised buses, public light buses, taxis, trams, ferries, and so forth.
Our public transport system carries over 12 million passenger journeys, or 90 per cent of all passenger trips, every day. It is one of the most efficient public transport systems in the world that we truly take pride in. Hong Kong's public transport system was ranked first among 84 cities according to an international survey published by Arthur D Little in 2014. Railways and franchised buses are our two main carriers, together serving over 70 per cent of the public transport commuters. It makes us less car-dependent and helps us reduce road congestion.
Railways form the "backbone" of our public transport system because they carry more people and are relatively greener. By railway, we include our subway system and light rail network.
Our urban and sub-urban railway networks are extensive. For example, the Airport Express carries you from the airport to the city centre in just 24 minutes. Every day, more than five million passenger journeys, or about 40 per cent of the total passenger trips, are made on our 10 heavy rail lines and light rail network.
We are now taking forward four railway projects in full swing, including three domestic railway lines and one cross-boundary express rail link. Upon their consecutive completion by 2021, our railway network will be expanded to cover areas inhabited by over 70 per cent of the population in Hong Kong.
In 2014, we announced the new blueprint for our railway development, the Railway Development Strategy 2014. When the seven recommended railway proposals in that strategy are consecutively completed, the total length of our railway network will increase to over 300km, covering areas inhabited by 75 per cent of the local population and 85 per cent of job opportunities by 2031.
We are committed to maintaining the affordability of our public transport. There are established mechanisms to regulate fares of major public transport services, notably railway and franchised bus services, to ensure that the fares are set at a reasonable level.
We take into account various factors such as economic data, wages, cost of living, what the public can afford, the long-term financial sustainability of public transport operators, etc.
The average cost of each domestic trip by railway or franchised bus in Hong Kong only comes to around US$1.
We also have a number of concession fare schemes to benefit the disadvantaged in the society. Under what we call the $2 Scheme, the elderly aged 65 and above and eligible persons with disabilities can travel by railway, buses, minibuses and ferries around the city at just HK$2 - or 25 US cents - per trip. The fare differential is borne by the Government, and in some cases, the operators as well. We hope to encourage senior citizens in particular to participate in the community and widen their social network.
Apart from that, we provide financial assistance to students and low-income earners to reduce their cost of travel to and from school or work. The total payout amounted to US$104 million in 2013/14.
Some public walkways constructed earlier were not equipped with proper barrier-free access facilities, for example lifts or standard ramps, and an alternative at-grade crossing was not available within about 100 metres.
To make our public space "barrier-free" and easily accessible, we expanded the Universal Accessibility Programme in 2012 to retrofit lifts or standard ramps to public walkways wherever feasible. A total of 211 retrofitting works items are being planned and implemented under the Programme. We anticipate that about 80 per cent of the items will be progressively completed by the end of 2018.
We fully embrace the concept of "barrier-free transport", and encourage public transport operators to make their facilities wheelchair-friendly.
At present, 85 per cent of all franchised buses in Hong Kong are low-floor ones to allow direct access of wheelchair users. By 2017, basically all buses will be low-floor ones.
Our railway stations have at least one barrier-free access where lifts, ramps or stair-lifts are provided. Inside train compartments, multi-purpose areas provide sufficient space for wheelchair users. Our taxi trade has also introduced wheelchair accessible models.
To minimise the need for mechanised transport over short distances, we will strengthen our on-going efforts to foster a pedestrian-friendly environment, such as providing walkways. Since 2000, our Transport Department has implemented more than 80 pedestrian schemes in various parts of the city.
Besides pedestrian schemes, a comprehensive footbridge system can also provide a more comfortable walking environment, particularly in a city like Hong Kong which is rainy and hot on summer days.
Hong Kong is a city quite widely linked up by footbridges and escalators and is dubbed by one writer as "a city without ground". One notable example is the footbridge system in our core central business district. The system runs from building to building, allowing pedestrians to commute in a comfortable environment.
Bicycle or cycling for both leisure and short-distance commuting in new towns and new development areas is now being facilitated. We will continue to foster a bicycle-friendly environment by building a comprehensive cycle track network connecting different districts in the New Territories. There are currently over 200km of cycle tracks in Hong Kong and we are building more.
In order to improve accessibility in hilly areas and contribute to sustainable development, we have built a number of hillside escalators and elevator systems.
Our famous Mid-level Escalators is the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system. It is about 800m in length, 135m in level difference and carries about 85 000 pedestrian trips every day. To ride the complete length of the escalators one-way takes about 20 minutes. We have 13 more similar projects going on to improve the accessibility in hilly areas.
We will not stop at where we are. We strive to do more and that's why we are conducting a Public Transport Strategy Study to ensure that the public transport operators can enjoy long-term sustainable development, and ultimately the people can enjoy more efficient and accessible services with reasonable multi-modal choices.
We will examine the roles and positioning of various public transport services other than heavy rail. We will explore measures to enhance complementarity among different public transport services. We will also review how the elderly and persons with disability can have better access to public transport services.
I have just briefly introduced to you our efforts in making our transport system more accessible, and more inclusive, for people of all ages and for different income groups. Thank you very much.
Ends/Friday, October 9, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:55
NNNN
