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Wednesday, June 7, 1972
As regards compensation to CMB as a result of the regularisation
of public light buses, he said that to base compensation wholly on the loss
of passengers that the Company would otherwise have carried had it not
been for the regularisation of public light buses, was both "illogical"
and "unjustified".
He contended that the public light buses and their predecessors,
the illegal mini-buses, before September 1969, were created as a result
of inadequate and inefficient public transport services that existed
before that date.
Obligations
"Franchise obligations are meant to be observed by Government on the
one hand and the Company on the other, and failure on either party must
be clearly recognised."
Mr. Szeto said he could not see the validity of a moral obligation
on the part of Government.
"The Commissioner for Transport should be empowered and required
to exercise closer supervision than there was hitherto on bus companies'
organisation, their operation, their bus scheduling, their maintenance services
to ensure the safety of their passengers and the public and the training and
discipline of their bus crews,
"Above all, Government must make it obligatory for bus companies to
produce for the examination and approval by Government their annual programmes
of service expansion and replacement of delapidated buses and all other
matters relevant to their organisations as provided in their respective
Ordinances, 19 he said.
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