LCQ 10: Public transport services for Hong Kong Disneyland
********************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (October 26):
Question:
Currently, visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD)can use the Mass Transit Railway, franchised buses, non-franchised buses and taxies, but not green and red minibuses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the present public transport arrangements can effectively cater to the flows of visitors travelling to and from HKD;
(b) of the reasons for forbidding some public transport service operators from operating routes to and from HKD; whether it has assessed if this practice is fair, and if it will result in relatively high fares for trips to and from HKD; if so, of the outcome of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it plans to change the decision so as to enhance competition, offer visitors to HKD more choices and create additional job opportunities; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
Currently, public transport services available to visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD) include railway, franchised buses, non-franchised buses, taxis as well as cross-boundary coaches for visitors from the Mainland. Transport arrangements for HKD were formulated before the commissioning of HKD based on the estimated number of visitors, passengers surveys, existing transport and traffic network and other transport statistics. The public transport demand to and from HKD is mainly recreational in nature and concentrate at the peak hours in the morning and evening. In order to accommodate the projected pattern of passenger demand, mass carriers with higher passenger capacity are necessary for provision of services to and from HKD. While planning for the transport arrangement for HKD, we have therefore included railway, a mass carrier, as the major service provider, to be supplemented by franchised buses, non-franchised buses and taxis.
Franchised buses provide convenient and efficient mass transit service to and from HKD. Non-franchised buses can meet the demand of particular groups of passengers (for instance, organised tour groups). Taxi provide convenient, personalised, and point-to-point services, especially for visitors who are not familiar with local public transport. As for public light buses (PLBs), according to our existing transport policy, the primary function of green minibuses is to provide regular transport services to supplement and serve as feeders to the mass carriers, serve areas where demand does not justify the provision of high capacity services. Red minibuses, on the other hand, provide a relatively flexible service within their existing service areas. Taking into account the mode of passenger demand of HKD, the passenger capacity and operating efficiency of PLBs are relatively low when compared with mass carriers such as railways and buses. Based on the principle of efficient use of transport service resources, we currently consider that there is no need to arrange PLB service to serve HKD.
In fact, we have been monitoring closely the passenger demand of HKD since its commissioning on September 12 2005, including the period during festival days and holidays such as Mid-autumn Festival and the National Day "Golden Week". The service levels and daily passengers throughput of various modes of transport show that the existing public transport services have surplus capacity, demonstrating that the public transport services to and from HKD is adequate and can effectively cater to the flows of visitors to HKD.
Besides, the various public transport modes offer a wide selection of transport services to HKD's visitors. There is competition both in terms of service quality and fare, providing the public with multiple and reasonable choices. We will continue monitoring the public transport services to and from HKD and make adjustment when necessary.
********************************************************** Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (October 26):
Question:
Currently, visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD)can use the Mass Transit Railway, franchised buses, non-franchised buses and taxies, but not green and red minibuses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the present public transport arrangements can effectively cater to the flows of visitors travelling to and from HKD;
(b) of the reasons for forbidding some public transport service operators from operating routes to and from HKD; whether it has assessed if this practice is fair, and if it will result in relatively high fares for trips to and from HKD; if so, of the outcome of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it plans to change the decision so as to enhance competition, offer visitors to HKD more choices and create additional job opportunities; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
Currently, public transport services available to visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD) include railway, franchised buses, non-franchised buses, taxis as well as cross-boundary coaches for visitors from the Mainland. Transport arrangements for HKD were formulated before the commissioning of HKD based on the estimated number of visitors, passengers surveys, existing transport and traffic network and other transport statistics. The public transport demand to and from HKD is mainly recreational in nature and concentrate at the peak hours in the morning and evening. In order to accommodate the projected pattern of passenger demand, mass carriers with higher passenger capacity are necessary for provision of services to and from HKD. While planning for the transport arrangement for HKD, we have therefore included railway, a mass carrier, as the major service provider, to be supplemented by franchised buses, non-franchised buses and taxis.
Franchised buses provide convenient and efficient mass transit service to and from HKD. Non-franchised buses can meet the demand of particular groups of passengers (for instance, organised tour groups). Taxi provide convenient, personalised, and point-to-point services, especially for visitors who are not familiar with local public transport. As for public light buses (PLBs), according to our existing transport policy, the primary function of green minibuses is to provide regular transport services to supplement and serve as feeders to the mass carriers, serve areas where demand does not justify the provision of high capacity services. Red minibuses, on the other hand, provide a relatively flexible service within their existing service areas. Taking into account the mode of passenger demand of HKD, the passenger capacity and operating efficiency of PLBs are relatively low when compared with mass carriers such as railways and buses. Based on the principle of efficient use of transport service resources, we currently consider that there is no need to arrange PLB service to serve HKD.
In fact, we have been monitoring closely the passenger demand of HKD since its commissioning on September 12 2005, including the period during festival days and holidays such as Mid-autumn Festival and the National Day "Golden Week". The service levels and daily passengers throughput of various modes of transport show that the existing public transport services have surplus capacity, demonstrating that the public transport services to and from HKD is adequate and can effectively cater to the flows of visitors to HKD.
Besides, the various public transport modes offer a wide selection of transport services to HKD's visitors. There is competition both in terms of service quality and fare, providing the public with multiple and reasonable choices. We will continue monitoring the public transport services to and from HKD and make adjustment when necessary.
Ends/Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:15
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