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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks. I am glad to support Mr. Chan's motion.
Ms. JENNIFER CHOW KIT-BING (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I support the spirit of the motion that we should review the policy and operational efficiency of the URBTIX system as soon as possible.
With regard to the present policy. I think that recovery of cost is necessary. especially from the commercial hirers. At present, the uniform charge per ticket is $3 and this amount is applicable for all hirers. It seems to be not quite fair in terms of resources utilisation. In fact, I hope that we can conduct reviews and formulate policies on lowering the subsidy level and on resources distribution as soon as possible in order to avoid wastes.
As to the improvement of the quality of service and enhancement of operational efficiency, we should conduct a review as soon as possible to reduce the cost. The present system of operation has been implemented for 12 years and continuous reviews are indeed necessary to keep in line with the aspirations of the public. Moreover, advanced technology should also be adopted to improve efficiency and enhance the image of the Council.
The function of the URBTIX system is to provide, through the present ticketing network, convenience to the public in purchasing tickets for cultural activities. I am sure that the aspiration and demand of the public today is quite different from those 12 years ago. Moreover, 22 ticketing outlets are not enough. That is why I once proposed in the Council that when constructing UC complexes in future, we could consider setting up ticketing outlets.
As for telephone booking, we can in fact consider the kind of practice similar to the Ticket Master' of some cinemas. Advanced registration is not required and there is no fixed time for collecting tickets; the patrons can purchase tickets simply by using credit cards and can collect tickets at the same time. This will surely improve the efficiency of our ticketing service.
Mr. Chairman. with the advancement of time, services provided by the Urban Council should also be improved. Therefore, I support Mr. Chan's motion that we should review the existing policy and operational efficiency of the URBTIX as soon as possible. Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MR. LEE KWOK-KEUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I don't have anything special to say.
MR. WU CHI-wat (in Cantonese):—I rise in support of Mr. Chan Choi-hi's motion. In fact, with the assessment method adopted by the Department, the current ticket cost is already greatly under-assessed. As what Mr. Chan Choi-hi said, the ticket cost only comes to $6 because the general practice adopted by the commercial sector has not been followed, in that depreciation
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