TRANSPORT
While the Hong Kong Police Force is the principal agency for enforcing traffic legislation and prosecuting offenders, the Prosecutions Section of the Transport Department handles prosecutions involving safety defects on buses, disqualifications under the Driving Offence Points System, and breaches of vehicle safety regulations, government tunnel regulations and Tsing Ma Control Area regulations. In 1997, the section prosecuted 52 cases in respect of buses, 5 959 cases for which disqualification was sought under the Driving Offence Points System, and 1 826 cases in respect of breaches of tunnel, Tsing Ma Control Area and other regulations.
A Transport Tribunal, set up under the Road Traffic Ordinance, and with a chairman and members appointed from among the public, provides a channel of appeal against decisions made by the Commissioner for Transport in respect of the registration and licensing of vehicles, the issue of hire car permits and passenger service licences, and the designation of car-testing centres.
The Transport Department also operates an Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre which provides a focal point for liaison with public transport operators on traffic and transport arrangements during serious traffic and transport disruptions, rainstorms and typhoons. The centre undertook 12 operations in 1997.
The Director of Highways heads the Highways Department, which is responsible for designing and building all highways, their repair and maintenance, and also for studying new railway proposals and monitoring their construction.
Planning
The Third Comprehensive Transport Study began in August 1997, for completion in about 19 months. It will help formulate an integrated transport strategy for Hong Kong up to 2016.
A Feasibility Study on Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) commenced in March 1997. The 27-month study will examine the need and the practicability of implementing an ERP system to improve the mobility of people and goods in Hong Kong,
Cross-Boundary Traffic
Sha Tau Kok, Man Kam To and Lok Ma Chau are the three road crossing points between Hong Kong and the Mainland of China and together can handle about 40 000 vehicles per day. The Lok Ma Chau crossing started 24-hour operations for freight traffic on November 3, 1994. The Sha Tau Kok and Man Kam To crossings open daily at 7 am and close at 6 pm and 10 pm, respectively. For passenger traffic, the crossings open daily at 7 am; the Sha Tau Kok and Man Kam To crossings close at 8 pm and the Lok Ma Chau crossing closes at 9 pm.
Cross-boundary vehicular traffic increased by about 7 per cent during the year, compared with 1996. The increase was registered mainly at Lok Ma Chau. Average daily vehicular traffic at the three crossing points in 1997 was about 1 900 at Sha Tau Kok; 8 400 at Man Kam To; and 15 700 at Lok Ma Chau. Goods vehicles accounted for 90 per cent of the traffic, reflecting the rapid growth in trade and industrial links with the Mainland. At the end of the year, 57 companies operated 128 tourist coach services across the border. Planning and design work is being carried out for improvements to Lok Ma Chau crossing. These will include the completing by late- 1999 of 10 extra pairs of Immigration/Customs kiosks for processing vehicles, plus additional coach lay-bys and extension of the Control Point Building for 2001/2002.
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