10
"Reshaping" there will have to be, but the
precise details of this "reshaping" have yet to be
determined.
In general terms, "reshaping" means that
we shall have to plan for the provision of new feeder
services to link MTR stations to areas away from the
stations and also for changes in existing routes in MTR
corridors as the MTR affects surface travelling patterns
in these corridors. And let me remind Sir. S.Y. CHUNG
and Mr. WU at this point that it is the bus companies
which will not be competing "freely and fairly" with the
MTR for they do not pay for the equivalent of their own
permanent way and stations, that is to say, they do not
pay for the use of the roads on which they operate or
even for the terminal facilities specially built for them
by the tax-payer.
At this stage it is not possible to tell Mr. WU
and Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN precisely how "reshaping" will
affect the travelling public.
Those passengers who
select feeder services and the MTR will benefit from the
speed of the railway and their total travelling time by
these two modes will be reduced. However, as MTR fares
are expected to be generally higher than fares for other
public transport modes, the fares paid by these passengers
will, generally, be higher than those for the equivalent
journeys by surface public transport.
/ Those