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The Transport Department (TD) today (November 5) said that the occupation movement, which has lasted for over a month, has resulted in road closures, traffic congestion and route adjustments of public transport services, causing great inconvenience to the daily life of members of the public. The 1823 Hotline has so far received more than 270 complaints related to public transport services and traffic affected by the illegal occupation of roads.
The complaints are mainly related to adjustments of public transport services, including change, truncation and suspension of routes; insufficient public transport services, lost trips and unstable frequencies; relocation of bus stops and requests for additional bus stops; and road closures due to blockage and traffic congestion.
During the illegal occupation of major trunk roads for over a month, the TD and public transport operators have constantly reviewed the road situation and have resumed public transport services as far as possible to minimise the impact on members of the public. However, routings and frequencies of public transport services have inevitably become unstable when being affected by the traffic situation. Meanwhile, the TD and the Police have been closely monitoring the traffic situation and have implemented a number of temporary traffic control measures to alleviate congestion. Nevertheless, if the major trunk roads such as Harcourt Road being illegally occupied by protesters cannot be reopened, traffic congestion cannot be improved.
Under the current circumstances, the TD continues to call on members of the public going to work and school to start their journeys early and plan their journeys in advance. They are also advised to allow more time for travelling. Motorists should avoid driving to Hong Kong Island as far as possible. They should also pay attention to the arrangements of temporary traffic control measures and related temporary traffic signs, and follow the instructions of the Police at the scene.
Regarding public transport services, a total of 221 bus routes are still affected today with eight bus routes suspended and 213 bus routes diverted. Among the affected bus routes, 80 routes travelling via Mong Kok are diverted due to the closure of a number of road sections in Mong Kok. A total of 20 green minibus routes travelling via Harcourt Road, Nathan Road and Argyle Street are still diverted or suspended or with service adjusted. Currently, the tram service between Percival Street and Paterson Street is still suspended. The MTR Corporation Limited continues to increase services for all urban lines to cope with passenger demand.
The TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will continue to monitor the road traffic situation and public transport services. For details of road closure, traffic diversion, suspension and route diversion of green minibus services, please refer to the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk). Regarding temporary traffic arrangements for bus routes, please refer to the following bus companies' websites for details:
For routes of Citybus and New World First Bus: www.nwstbus.com.hk/en/uploadedFiles/OC2014/TAA.htm .
For routes of Kowloon Motor Bus: www.kmb.hk/en .¡@
As there will be updates on bus services from time to time due to traffic changes, members of the public are advised to pay attention to the latest service arrangements announced by bus companies before starting their journeys.
Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:57
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