TUESDAY, MAY 19, 1987
CMB'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE SATISFACTORY
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THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT IS SATISFIED WITH THE OVERALL MECHANICAL CONDITION OF THE CHINA MOTOR BUS COMPANY'S (CMB) BUSES AND THE RECENT OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY, THE TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (TAC) LEARNT TODAY (TUESDAY).
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AS ITS MEETING THIS AFTERNOON. THE TAC CONSIDERED THE REPORT ON CMB'S PERFORMANCE WHICH COVERED ASSESSMENTS ON BUS MAINTENANCE, ACCIDENT TRENDS, COMPLAINTS, QUALITY OF SERVICE, DEPOT PROVISION AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT.
THE REVIEW COVERED THE PERIOD BETWEEN MARCH 1, 1986 AND FEBRUARY 28, 1987. IT WAS FOUND THAT CMB HAD COMPLIED WITH NEARLY ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TAC WORKING GROUP ON CMB MAINTENANCE. SPECIFIC MEASURES TAKEN IN RESPONSE TO THE WORKING GROUP'S REPORT INCLUDE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED TRAINING COURSES, THE SETTING UP OF A QUALITY CONTROL GROUP, THE APPOINTMENT OF AN ORGANISATION AND METHOD CONSULTANT AND RATIONALISATION OF THE BUS FLEET.
THE TAC MEMBERS NOTED THAT THE SAFETY STANDARD OF CMB BUSES HAD IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE YEAR. THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF SAFETY DEFECTS FOUND ON CMB BUSES DURING SPOT CHECKS HAD BEEN REDUCED FROM 0.5 DEFECT PER BUS IN EARLY 1986 TO 0.3 BY THE END OF THE YEAR. THIS SAFETY LEVEL IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF KOWLOON MOTOR BUS BUSES.
THE NUMBER OF INJURY ACCIDENTS INVOLVING CMB BUSES HAD BEEN REDUCED BY 16 PER CENT FROM 433 IN 1985 TO 363 IN 1986. MEMBERS AGREED THAT THE IMPROVING TREND, DUE LARGELY TO THE IMPROVED MAINTENANCE STANDARDS INTRODUCED AS A RESULT OF TAC'S MONITORING AND TIGHTER STAFF SUPERVISION BY CMB, DID PROVIDE REASON FOR OPTIMISM.
REGARDING THE QUALITY OF CMB SERVICES, TAC MEMBERS NOTED THAT THE COMPANY CONTINUED TO DEPLOY SUFFICIENT BUSES TO MEET THE SCHEDULED REQUIREMENTS AND THAT 96 PER CENT OF BUS DEPARTURES WERE ON SCHEDULE.
THE REPORTS OF THE TRANSPORT COMPLAINTS UNIT SHOW THAT CMB'S SHARE OF PUBLIC COMPLAINTS CONTINUED TO DECLINE IN 1986. IT DROPPED FROM 25.1 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE STANDARD OF SERVICE OF ALL MODES FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986 TO 15.6 PER CENT IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE YEAR.
ALTHOUGH SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS WERE FOUND IN ITS MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME, TAC MEMBERS NOTED THAT THE COMPANY DOES NOT
HAVE A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM TO PROVIDE MANAGERS WITH THE DATA NECESSARY FOR ASSESSING THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF MAINTAINING OLD BUSES VIS-A-VIS THEIR REPLACEMENT BY NEW BUSES. AS A FIRST STEP TO RECTIFY THIS SITUATION, MEMBERS SUGGESTED THAT THE COMPANY SHOULD SET UP A COMPUTERISED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM IN ORDER TO PLAN AND MAKE DECISION ON ITS BUS REPLACEMENT PROGRAMME IN A MORE RATIONAL MANNER, AND WORK OUT AS A MATTER OF PRIORITY CMB'S BUS SCRAPPING AND PURCHASING PROGRAMME.
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