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Solid progress has been made in preparing for the changeover of the China Motor Bus (CMB) franchised bus network on September 1, the Commissioner for Transport, Mrs Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, said today (Friday).
Agreement has been reached between CMB and New World First Bus (NWFB) (the new network operator) over the sale and purchase of the bus fleet and the lease of CMB's Chai Wan depot for a period of three years.
The two parties also agreed in principle to a phased handing-over of bus and bus related assets from the morning of August 31 and are working on logistical details which should be finalised in the next few days, she said.
Mrs Law told a press conference following her briefing session with representatives of the four Provisional District Boards on Hong Kong Island that "there should be adequate provision of bus services on Hong Kong Island to meet the demand on September 1."
"There is no need to defer the opening of the new school year nor to postpone the school hours," Mrs Law said. However, she urged students and teachers to allow more journey time on the road.
"With goodwill and concerted efforts on all sides, we should be able to achieve a smooth transition.
"There was good progress in the discussion between CMB and NWFB regarding the transition," Mrs Law said.
In the press conference, the managing director of NWFB, Mr Adolf Hsu, assured the public that the new operator would put in their best effort to serve the community.
"We are working on details of transitional arrangements and are confident that we can provide satisfactory services to the traveling public from day one of our operation," he said.
Progress made
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In reviewing the progress to-date, Mrs Law pointed out that the following tasks have been accomplished:
* At the Extraordinary General Meeting held on August 14, CMB's shareholders endorsed the sale of 710 buses as well as plants and machinery at three bus depots to NWFB;
* Details on the 710 buses have been submitted to Transport Department for licensing under NWFB. The transfer of ownership will be effective from September 1;
* CMB has agreed to lease their Chai Wan depot to NWFB for three years starting September 1, 1998, pending the completion of NWFB's own permanent depot at the Chai Wan Cargo Handling Area. NWFB will have access to the Chai Wan depot from 2 am on September 1;
* NWFB has signed up 1,100 CMB drivers and 580 depot staff;
* The Government has reached agreement in principle with CMB and NWFB on a phased programme of final inspection beginning in the morning of August 31, to be completed by 4 am on September 1. Pre-inspection of two depots was arranged yesterday (August 20) and inspection of buses will take place shortly.
*CMB and NWFB have also reached agreement in principle over the sale and purchase of all the CMB bus stop poles, passenger shelters and regulators' offices/kiosks.
*The arrangements for services after midnight on 1 September have also been agreed in principle as follows:
NWFB will start to operate 5 overnight services after midnight;
Citybus will take over route 10 from midnight onwards;
CMB will continue to operate 20 routes with departures after midnight until the last trips.
*Citybus started operation of two new routes 25A and 25C on August 16, which will replace CMB's route 11A and 25M to be cancelled with effect from September 1.
*Citybus will start a new route 37X from August 24 to replace CMB's route 537 which will also be cancelled with effect from September 1.
Winding down of CMB operation
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Mrs Law also addressed public concerns over the possible lapse of CMB bus services in the final days.
"With 65 years of bus services in Hong Kong, CMB has made significant contributions to the history of transportation in Hong Kong. It has made known its intention and commitment to continue to provide bus services up to the end of the current franchise. It is in the interests of the public and the reputation of its founding father for CMB to honour this commitment.
"The Transport Department has been monitoring closely CMB's operation in the last two months and has found the service to be generally satisfactory.
"TD's vehicle examiners have undertaken regular checks on CMB's buses to ensure maintenance and safety standards and have not found any irregularities."
Mrs Law said that the department had reminded CMB of its obligations under the terms of the franchise and the law even after expiry of the current franchise. These include the following requirements:
* To maintain a contingency fund in respect of third party risk claims for seven years after the franchise has expired;
* To submit to TD operational and financial records covering the period up to August 31, 1998;
* To apply for licences in respect of the buses which CMB has retained to operate non-franchised bus services;
* To grant redundancy payment to all staff who have been issued notice of termination of employment.
Operational command
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The control centre of NWFB will begin operation at 9 am on August 31. Transport Department will activate its Operation Co-ordination Centre (OCC) from 5 pm on August 31 to 9 pm on September 1.
The functions of the OCC are: to oversee transitional arrangement; to co-ordinate actions of other parties, including government departments and bus operators; and to disseminate information to the public.
The centre, located at the Headquarters of the Transport Department in Wan Chai, will be manned by TD staff and liaison officers from the Police, NWFB and Citybus.
Observation teams will be deployed to monitor operations at three bus depots, and at all major bus termini and bus stops.
Public announcements will be made regularly through radio and television to inform the public of changes in bus services effective on September 1.
At the same time, police presence will be strengthened on September 1 at major road junctions to regulate traffic and attend to crowd control.
Backup Fleet
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To prepare for the unlikely event of a shortfall of operational buses on the part of NWFB which might affect bus services in the early morning hours on the first day of the changeover, Mrs Law said there would be standby arrangements to mobilise additional buses from other operators to meet the shortfall and minimise any possible disruption of bus services to the traveling public.
She said Kowloon Motor Bus, Citybus, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, Mass Transit Railway Corporation, Hongkong Tramways and Public Omnibus Operators Association (POOA) had all agreed to help where necessary.
The key features of the backup arrangements are:
* NWFB will deploy its available buses to maintain its services on all routes with the shortfall being made up by the backup fleet;
* If there is a substantial shortfall of buses, KMB will temporarily take over the 24 cross-harbour routes jointly operated by KMB and NWFB, in full or in part, while POOA and KCRC will provide over 100 buses to reinforce NWFB's fleet;
* Citybus will strengthen its local routes, particularly in school areas and the catchments away from the MTR Island Line Corridor;
*MTRC will also enhance its services; and
* HK Tramways will also enhance its services as appropriate.
Service hotlines
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NWFB, Citybus and Transport Department will extend their hotlines service hours from August 24. The telephone numbers are:
NWFB 2136 8888
Citybus 2873 0818
Transport Department 2829 5258
End/Friday, August 21, 1998
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