Bus Safety Excellence Award encourages enhanced training and good use of technology to foster safety culture (with photos)
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Officiating at the Bus Safety Excellence Award Ceremony 2026, the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Vic Yau, said that the Transport Department (TD) has been steering FBOs to facilitate the commissioning of new important infrastructures such as the new Huanggang Port, thereby further enhancing connectivity between Guangdong and Hong Kong, while continuously improving the bus network, safeguarding passenger safety and ensuring service standards are always the objectives of both the Government and the trade.
Mr Yau said that, apart from introducing AI-driven advanced driver assistance systems and driver monitoring systems, the TD and the trade are promoting the tyre pressure monitoring system to be part of standard equipment for newly purchased franchised buses. The testing of the so-called digital cameras (camera monitor systems) is being conducted. The Smart Traffic Fund has also subsidised university research on an autonomous emergency braking system, aiming to assist in safe driving.
As for training, the TD has comprehensively strengthened the requirements of the Practice Note on Training Framework for Franchised Bus Captains, increasing the pre-service course and on-road training hours for newly recruited bus captains. A unified standard operating procedure and a training course framework for newly recruited bus captains have been introduced to assist FBOs in obtaining training accreditation. Measures have been actively rolled out to manage bus captains' fatigue.
The Bus Safety Excellence Award 2026 commended a total of 57 multidisciplinary staff members, comprising 29 bus captains, six driving instructors, 12 inspectors/regulators and 10 engineers/mechanics from five teams. The list of awardees is set out in the Annex. Award-winning bus captains must maintain a clean traffic accident record and have no record of driving offence points. Driving instructors are required to provide effective safety training for bus captains, and inspectors/regulators must maintain effective management of daily fleet operations.
At the Award Ceremony, the Commissioner for Transport, Miss Winnie Tse, presented awards to the engineer/mechanic team category. She was pleased to note that the award entries, namely a smart driving operation risk identification system, an intelligent bus rear-view and blind-spot elimination system, a bus battery compartment fire suppression device and safety devices for hydrogen-fuel-bus maintenance workshops, utilised data, image processing and new energy technologies respectively to ensure driving and maintenance work safety. This has demonstrated the effectiveness of innovative technologies in improving bus safety.
Also officiating at the Award Ceremony were the Chairman of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Transport, Dr Chan Han-pan; the Deputy Chairman of the LegCo Panel on Transport, Mr Yiu Pak-leung; LegCo Member (Transport), Mr Lothair Lam; and the Senior Superintendent of Police (Administration Bureau) (Traffic Branch Headquarters) of the Hong Kong Police Force, Mr Sam Choy. About 200 participants attended the ceremony. They deepened their understanding of bus safety tips, including "staying courteous and alert", "obeying traffic regulations", "keeping a safe distance" and "driving attentively, no speeding", through interactive games.
Ends/Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:40
Issued at HKT 17:40
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