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TRANSPORT
number of improvement works, including the award of management contracts for 14 public transport interchanges and commencement of the design work to upgrade the physical appearance and ventilation systems of some interchanges.
From August 1, 2001, all newly registered taxis have to run on LPG, to meet the tighter emission standards. Incentive schemes to encourage the early replacement of diesel light buses by LPG or electricity-driven vehicles were introduced on August 27. To combat the problem caused by vehicle exhaust emissions, the Government implemented a mandatory dynamometer smoke test for all vehicles above 5.5 tonnes with effect from January 1, 2002, if they are reported to emit excessive smoke.
Cross-boundary Traffic
Rail Service to Lo Wu
Lo Wu, the only rail boundary crossing to the Mainland, operated near capacity in 2002, handling an average of 260 000 passengers daily. During festive seasons, the daily volume of passengers exceeded 350 000. Its original operating hours were between 6.30 am and 11.30 pm. To cater for the increasing numbers of cross-boundary passengers between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the operating hours at the crossing were extended from 11.30 pm to midnight daily at the end of 2001. In addition, a number of improvement projects at the Lo Wu Boundary Control Point, such as the expansion of the Departure Hall and widening of the passageway, will be completed in phases by 2005.
Road Crossings
There are three road crossing points between Hong Kong and the Mainland
at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok. Since November 1994, the Lok Ma Chau crossing has been open to goods vehicles round-the-clock, and since December 2001 it has been open to passenger traffic between 6.30 am and midnight daily. The Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok crossings open daily to both goods vehicles and passenger traffic from 7 am to 10 pm and from 7 am to 8 pm, respectively.
The road crossings handled an average total of 33 800 cross-boundary vehicles daily in 2002, 9 per cent higher than in the previous year. The majority of the traffic comprised goods vehicles, or 79 per cent of the total. The average daily vehicular traffic was 23 800 at Lok Ma Chau, 7 700 at Man Kam To and 2 300 at Sha Tau Kok. Regarding passenger volume, the average daily flows were 45 800 at Lok Ma Chau, 3 100 at Man Kam To and 4 600 at Sha Tau Kok. During the year, 1 070 daily coach crossings between Hong Kong and the Mainland were provided by 94 companies.
The shuttle bus service introduced in March 1997 between Huanggang in Shenzhen and the Public Transport Interchange in San Tin recorded a daily average of 22 300 passenger trips in 2002. In 2002, three fixed-schedule cross-boundary coach services operated from 6.30 am to midnight.
Construction work to provide a larger covered passenger holding area at the Public Transport Interchange in San Tin and the programme to replace the entire fleet of shuttle buses with larger vehicles, which would increase the carrying capacity of the service by 50 per cent, were completed early in the year.
Phase II of improvement works at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point are in progress and scheduled to be completed in 2003. These works include expansion of the Control