9
ON
MONDAY, JULY 11, 1983
THE PROBLEM WITH THE TWO KMB ROUTES WAS SUMMARISED AS FOLLOWS # A POOR, 40-MINUTE FREQUENCY (FREQUENCY AT MEALBREAK 90 MINUTES), THE SLOW SPEED, POOR STANDARD OF COMFORT, A CAPACITY OF ONLY
D PASSENGERS PER PEAK HOUR, ROUTE LIMITATIONS, SHORT OPERATING HOURS AND THE FACT THAT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE COULD NOT BE CARRIED.
ON THE PLUS SIDE HOWEVER, THERE WAS THE ATTRACTION OF THE CHEAP, 90-CENT FARE.
THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT TOOK THE SURVEY FINDINGS INTO ACCOUNT ALONG WITH THREE PRINCIPLES LAID DOWN BY THE DISTRICT BOARD - THAT ANY REPLACEMENT SERVICE MUST CONNECT DIRECT WITH YUEN LONG, THAT THERE BE FARE STAGES, AND THAT STUDENTS SHOULD TRAVEL AT HALF PRICE.
INITIALLY, IT HAD BEEN PROPOSED THAT THE REPLACEMENT MAXICABS SHOULD RUN FROM PAK NAI TO LAU FAU SHAN AND FROM TSIM BEI TSUI TO LAU FAU SHAN WITH AN INTERCHANGE FOR BOTH WITH A LAU FAU SHAN TO YUEN LONG SERVICE.
BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES RECOMMENDED BY THE DISTRICT BOARD, A REVISED PLAN WAS PREPARED WHICH CALLS FOR THREE MAXICAB SERVICES, FROM FUI YIU, TSIM BEI TSUI AND LAU FAU SHAN - ALL GOING RIGHT THROUGH TO YUEN LONG.
FARE STAGES WERE TO BE INTRODUCED. IN ADDITION FARES WERE TO BE LOWERED FOR INSTANCE, THE ADULT FARE FROM TSIM BEI TSUI OR FUI YIU TO YUEN LONG WOULD GO DOWN FROM $3 TO $2.20. ALSO, STUDENTS WERE TO BE GIVEN REDUCED RATES.
ALTHOUGH MAXICABS WOULD COST SLIGHTLY MORE, SAID THE DEPARTMENT'S SPOKESMAN, THIS WOULD BE MORE THAN OUTWEIGHED BY THE GREATLY IMPROVED SERVICE TO PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AREA.
MAXICABS WOULD RUN EVERY 10 MINUTES, WOULD HAVE AN IMPROVED STANDARD OF COMFORT- EACH PASSENGER HAVING A SEAT, WOULD MAINTAIN FAST SERVICE, AND WOULD BE ABLE TO CARRY MORE PASSENGERS EACH HOUR.
THEY WOULD EXTEND THE ROUTE FURTHER - SUCH AS TO FUI YIU, WOULD HAVE LONGER OPERATING HOURS, AND, IN VIEW OF RECENTLY APPROVED CHANGES TO THE APPROVED SIZE OF THE VEHICLES, WOULD HAVE MORE ROOM TO CARRY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE.
THE MAXICAB SERVICES WOULD BE INTRODUCED THIS SEPTEMBER. IN ORDER TO GIVE LOCAL RESIDENTS A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD TO GET USED TO THE NEW SERVICES, THE KMB ROUTES 57 AND 58 WOULD CONTINUE TO OPERATE FOR A THREE-MONTH CHANGEOVER PERIOD AFTER WHICH THEY WOULD BE WITHDRAWN,
THE NEW MAXICAB PROPOSALS MEET WITH ALL THREE OF THE STIPULATIONS LAID DOWN BY THE YUEN LONG DISTRICT BOARD LAST YEAR.
+THE RECOMMENDED REPLACEMENT OF TWO UNECONOMIC ROUTES WITH MAXICABS WHICH WILL PROVIDE GREATLY INCREASED STANDARDS OF SERVICE TO RESIDENTS OF THESE AREAS IS FULLY IN LINE WITH ESTABLISHED TRANSPORT POLICY,+ SAID THE SPOKESMAN.
/+THERE SEEMS
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