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THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1989
ON COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUS SERVICES, HE SAID THAT THE NUMBER INCREASED FROM 1,394 IN 1987-88 TO 2,201 IN 1988-89. THEY WERE MOSTLY RELATED TO INADEQUATE SERVICE AND STANDARD OF SERVICE.
REGARDING INADEQUATE SERVICE, THE UNIT RECORDED 185 COMPLAINTS IN 1988-89 193 IN 1987-88) AGAINST THE CHINA MOTOR BUS COMPANY (CMB) AND 462 COMPLAINTS (340 IN 1987-88) AGAINST THE KOWLOON MOTOR BUS COMPANY (KMB).
MOST OF THESE COMPLAINTS WERE ABOUT FREQUENCY OF BUS SERVICES
OR ROUTEINGS. PARTICULARLY TO NEW TOWNS.
FOR CROSS HARBOUR BUS SERVICES, THERE WERE 81 COMPLAINTS, 20 MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
COMPLAINTS RELATING TO THE STANDARD OF SERVICE OF THE FRANCHISED BUS COMPANIES INCLUDED FAILURE TO KEEP TO SCHEDULES AND DRIVERS' BEHAVIOUR. IN THIS REGARD, THE UNIT RECORDED 538 COMPLAINTS (377 IN 1987-881 CONCERNING CMB AND 656 (403 IN 1987-88) KMB.
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CONCERNING
COMPLAINT
LAST YEAR OF 1,995
ON TAXI SERVICE, MR RUMJAHN SAID AN IMPROVED PROCEDURE AGAINST TAXI MALPRACTICE WAS INTRODUCED IN MAY AND THIS COULD BE A FACTOR IN EXPLAINING THE TOTAL NUMBER COMPLAINTS RECEIVED IN 1988-89, AN INCREASE OF 60 PER CENT COMPARED WITH 1987-88.
(1,160
OF THESE. 1,856 CASES WERE RELATED TO TAXI MALPRACTICES IN 1987-88) AND THE MAJOR AREA OF THE COMPLAINTS IS REFUSING HIRE AND SOLICITING PASSENGERS,
HOWEVER, MR RUMJAHN ADDED THAT THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ON TAXI MALPRACTICE RECEIVED IN EARLY 1989 HAD DROPPED COMPARED WITH THE LATTER PART OF 1988.
REGARDING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. 2,469 COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED. OF THESE, 1.193 WERE RELATED TO ROAD CONGESTION. THE MAIN CONGESTION AREAS WERE WAN CHAI, CENTRAL AND WESTERN, KWUN TONG AND KOWLOON CITY.
THE PUBLIC HAD ALSO PUT FORWARD 1.114 SUGGESTIONS ON IMPROVING ROAD CONGESTION AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT. APPROPRIATE FOLLOW-UP ACTION HAD BEEN TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT.
THE TRANSPORT COMPLAINTS UNIT WAS SET UP UNDER THE TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO RECEIVE AND MONITOR COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
ON TRANSPORT MATTERS.
COMPLAINTS CAN BE MADE TO THE UNIT BY TELEPHONING THE 24-HOUR HOTLINE. 5-776866.
AFTER INVESTIGATING THE COMPLAINTS, THE UNIT WILL GIVE THE COMPLAINANT AN ANSWER EITHER VERBALLY OR IN WRITING, AS APPROPRIATE.
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