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DR. LEUNG PING-CHUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I should have gone to various districts for inspection but I did not. In the reply, it says that there was no flooding in Tai Kok Tsui, I think that it was possibly based on media report and feedbacks from local residents. In other areas we have a lot of reports about flooding but not many in Tai Kok Tsui.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in view of Mr. CHAN Kwok-ming's questions, I do not think the reply is an accurate one. Can we be given an accurate reply particularly in relation to flooding and cleansing situation in Mong Kok?
DR. LEUNG PING-CHUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, certainly I would reflect this opinion to the Department. The cause and consequence are quite clear. Because of the contracting-out scheme, we have some problems with manpower resources to clear the refuse and the refuse causes some flooding and that was actually the assumption. According to the Department, until this moment we are not sure about the effectiveness or otherwise of the contracting-out trial scheme. On the other hand, the trial scheme has not affected the deployment of manpower, so we cannot assume that this trial scheme has attributed to the flooding instances.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, since quite a number of members today are very concerned about flooding, I would like to ask Dr. LEUNG at the next Public Health Select Committee meeting, can we invite all members who are concerned about the problems today to the meeting so that they can ask questions about the operational details with the Department as these questions are not related to policy.
5.
MR. MA LEE-WO asked the following question (in Cantonese):-Summer has come and our swimming pools have opened to the public one after another. Last year, at our Monthly Meeting, I once raised the subject of improving our way of collecting charges for the entry to swimming pools, and was given the reply that a study would be conducted to look for ways of improvement. Regrettably, up to now there have been no actual developments whatsoever. Families in general still have to bring along a lot of coins before they can enter the swimming pools. So, I would like to ask:
(a) What are the findings of the study conducted in the past year with a view to
finding ways of improvement?
(b) Can the existing way of collecting swimming pools admission fees be changed
from one of using coins to that of using stored value tickets?
(c) Before any improvement measure is meted out, can we provide coins
exchange services at the entrance of swimming pools for the convenience of the public?
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MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese): This question which is in three parts concerns the findings of the study on swimming pool admission systems such as stored value tickets, whether the existing admission system can be changed to accept stored value tickets and if a coin exchange services can be provided before any improvement measure is introduced.
Coin-operated turnstiles were installed in Urban Council public swimming pools three years ago for the purpose of allowing quick admission of large numbers of swimmers and reducing staff cost. So far, we have been able to achieve both of these objectives. The queuing time for admission to the swimming pools has been significantly reduced. This has also enabled saving in staff costs.
In order to resolve the problem of coin exchange, the Department has studied the feasibility of linking the swimming pool admission turnstiles with the common stored value tickets system of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC). It is technically feasible to interface our system with that of MTRC's. Their large ticket sale outlets and back-up services would also obviate the need to set up our own. However, this will be expensive in terms of both the cost of establishment and recurrent expenditure (about $4 M each).
We have also studied the feasibility of using other stored value tickets systems and found that computerized systems such as smart cards are equally expensive to establish and operate. By comparison, pre-printed tickets systems are relatively cheap to establish and operate but like their computerized counterparts, they are susceptible to forgery. For these reasons the Department has not pursued alternative admission systems any further.
As an alternative to electronic card systems, the Department has been examining a Bill Validator which enables our turnstiles to detect and accept ten dollar notes in addition to coins. This equipment has been borrowed from the supplier for trials at Kowloon Park Swimming Pool which started in December 1991 and initial results are encouraging but the Department needs a longer period of time so as to test its performance during peak swimming season to ascertain its reliability. The trial will be completed by end of August 1992 and should it prove to be reliable, the Department will consider extending this system to other pools. It is believed that this is the most cost-effective method in resolving the problem of change service at our swimming pools.
On the provision of coin exchange service, the Department did conduct a trial on the use of a note-to-coin change machine at Kowloon Park Swimming Pool in 1990 but found it not useful because of low reliability and disproportionate staff involvement. The provision of manual change service is not recommended because it defeats the original purpose of reducing staff costs.
MR. MA LEE-WO (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have three questions. In connection with the last paragraph that manual change service is not recommended because it defeats the original purpose of reducing staff cost, I have
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