THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1984
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THE SECTION HAS 108 SPANS AND THERE ARE 4.5 KILOMETRES OF SLIP ROAD.
AT THE PEAK OF CONSTRUCTION 1 600 WORKERS WERE EMPLOYED ON THE SITE AT ANY ONE TIME.
CONTRACT PAYMENTS AMOUNTED TO $1.5 MILLION PER DAY.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE HIGHWAY HAS MEANT THE RELOCATION OF FIVE
PIERS.
THE HIGHWAY WILL OPEN TO TRAFFIC TOMORROW (FRIDAY) AFTERNOON.
BUS FARE RATIONALE EXPLAINED TO UMELCO
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IN REPLY TO PRESS QUESTIONS TODAY, THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT CONFIRMED THAT HE HAD HAD A MOST HELPFUL DISCUSSION WITH UMELCO THIS MORNING ABOUT THE NEW TEMPORARY ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR BUS ROUTES AND THEIR FARES.
HE SAID THAT HE HAD EXPLAINED IN DETAIL TO UMELCO THE RATIONALE FOR DETERMINING THE FARE LEVELS AT $2 AND $2.50 FOR THE FIVE ROUTES. THE FARES HAD BEEN DETERMINED FOR THE TEMPORARY ROUTES (AND HE EMPHASISED THAT THEY ARE TEMPORARY ROUTES) BY THE COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT WITH REFERENCE TO THE EXISTING SCALE OF FARES FOR GROUPS OF ROUTES. THE IEC ROUTES, OF COURSE, ARE NEW AND THEREFORE THERE IS NO EXACT PRECEDENT. THE COMMISSIONER HAD THEREFORE BASED THE FARES BETWEEN APPROVED SUBURBAN EXPRESS+ FARE LEVELS AND +EXPRESS COACH LEVELS AS ALREADY APPLIED TO CMB SERVICES.
THE DIFFERENTIAL FARES IN THE VARIOUS GROUP OF FARES REFLECT THE DIFFERENCE IN THE QUALITY OF SERVICE, MAINLY SPEED. THE BASIC ROUTES ARE URBAN AND SUBURBAN, WHICH HAVE MANY STOPS AND CONSEQUENTLY SLOWER SPEEDS AND THEREFORE LOWER FARE STRUCTURES.
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THE SUBURBAN EXPRESS+ GROUPS OF FARES, OF WHICH EXAMPLES ARE THE ABERDEEN TO CENTRAL ROUTE AND ALSO THE CH! FU FA YUEN TO
THE NEW NORTH POINT ROUTE, HAVE SOME STOPS, BUT RELATIVELY FEW. IEC ROUTE WILL, OF COURSE, HAVE NO STOPS ON THE CORRIDOR ITSELF AND ITS AVERAGE SPEED WILL THEREFORE BE EVEN FASTER THAN THE SUBURBAN EXPRESS. HOWEVER, IN TERMS OF CONVENIENCE AND COMFORT, IT WILL NOT BE AS GOOD AS EXPRESS COACH+ FARES. THE COMMISSIONER THEREFORE SET THE TEMPORARY FARES BETWEEN THE TWO. FOR EXAMPLE AT THE +EXPRESS COACH+ FARE LEVEL, THE FARES WOULD COME OUT AT $2 TO $4. WHEREAS UNDER THE SUBURBAN EXPRESS LEVELS THEY COME OUT AT $1.70 AND $2.50. THE COMMISSIONER ESTIMATED THAT $2 AND $2.50 WOULD BE REASONABLE.
/THE SECRETARY