MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1975
SHARP EYE KEPT ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES
*****. *
FUNCTIONING PRACTICALLY AS A WATCHDOG+ ON HONG KONG'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS AN INTEGRAL UNIT WITHIN THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT WHICH CONSTANTLY MONITORS AND CO-ORDINATES THE OPERATIONAL PERFORMADE OF BUSES, TRAMS AND FERRIES AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SCHEMES.
TO TRANSPORT PLANNERS, IT ALSO FORMS AN ESSENTIAL +INTELLIGENCE FORCE+ COLLATING COMMENTS AND STATISTICAL DATA AS FEEDBACK FOR PLANNING OF NEW SERVICES AND TRAFFIC SCHEMES OR FOR IMPROVEMENT OF E..ISTING ONES.
AND FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, IT PROVIDES AN INVESTIGATION MACHINERY CARRYING OUT ON-THE-SPOT CHECKS ON ANY COMPLAINTS OR SUGGESTIONS THEY MAY RAISE IN TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC MATTERS WITH A VIEW TO ASCERTAINING THEIR JUSTIFICATION.
THIS IS THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SECTION OF WHICH A SQUAD OF TRANSPORT INSPECTORS, ASSISTED BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THE SUMMER, SPEND ALMOST 90 PER CENT OF THEIR TIME ON FIELD WORK. THE SECTION IS ONE OF THE TWO UNDER THE DEPARTMENT'S PUBLIC TRANSPORT DIVISION.
FOR THEM, FIELD SURVEYS ARE THE ORDER OF THE DAY, THROUGH OBSERVATION OR COUNTING IN BUS TERMINI, FERRY PIERS AND TRAM STOPS, ON BOARD BUSES AND FERRIES, IN CAR PARKS, NEAR TAXI OR PUBLIC LIGHT BUS STANDS, OR AT ROAD SIDES.
+WITH THE LARGE NUMBERS OF VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION ON THE ROADS, RESEARCH AND PLANNING HAS NOW PLAYED AN INCREASINGLY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE PROCESS OF DECISION-MAKING ON TRANSPORT MATTERS,+ SAID MR. CHOY HON-LEUNG, SENIOR TRANSPORT OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE SECTION.
QUITE OFTEN, HE SAID, RESEARCH AND PLANNING IS MADE AT AN EARLY STAGE OF THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS ALTHOUGH IN SOME CASES POLICY EMERGES WHILE RESEARCH IS CONTINUING, WHILE IN OTHER CASES WHERE THE SITUATION IS LESS URGENT, POLICY FORMULATION AWAITS THE COMPLETION OF RESEARCH.
MR. CHOY RECALLED THAT BEFORE THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT WAS SET UP IN 1968, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN TRANSPORT WAS CARRIED OUT BY SEVERAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND BY PRIVATELY-OWNED TRANSPORT COMPANIES AS WELL.
+NOW THE DEPARTMENT PLANS THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES, MONITORS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAFFIC SCHEMES AND COLLATES COMMENTS AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION AS FEEDBACK FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS.
+OF GREATER SIGNIFICANCE IS THE DEPARTMENT'S ASSESSMENT OF THE ADEQUATE PERFORMANCE OF EACH OF THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT MODES IN HONG KONG, HE SAID.
/APART FROM