HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
Bus Services.
And, lastly, we come to the subject of the Bus Services.
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At first, no doubt, there was every disposition on the part of the bus-using public to adopt rather a lenient view of the short- comings of the new services on both sides of the Harbour, having regard to the fact that new Companies were taking over these services and that it was only fair to give them sufficient time to get into their stride.
Such lenient considerations are, however, now no longer applicable seeing that these new bus services have already been running for four months.
At the commencement of the new services, constant breakdowns of buses took place, especially when going up Garden Road, and, even recently, breakdowns on Garden Road, still occur, whereas such breakdowns under the regime of the Hong Kong Hotel Company were practically unknown.
If such breakdowns are in any way attributable to the obtaining of less experienced drivers at lower wages, then such saving has been distinctly false economy, both from the point of view of the Company and also of the travelling public who have a right to expect a punctual and efficient service.
Another complaint which has been voiced in the columns of the local Press, and which is doubtless also due, in a measure, to drivers having insufficient experience, is the failure of the buses, especially on the Hong Kong side of the Harbour, to keep to a proper regular schedule of times, thereby causing grave incon- venience to passengers going to and from their offices.
In Kowloon special grievances have recently been ventilated in the South China Morning Post, namely the insufficiency of buses on certain routes at certain hours.
We trust that the Government will fully investigate the above matters with a view to their being remedied as it is so obviously necessary that the regularity and efficiency of public utility companies should, in the interests of the public, be fully maintained. (Applause).
HON. MR. C. G. S. MACKIE.-Your Excellency,-My Hon- ourable friend, the Senior Unofficial Member has dealt very fully with the principal points in the Honourable Colonial Secretary's speech and has covered most of the ground which calls for any comment.
There are one or two matters however which have not been touched upon and on which I would like to make a few remarks.
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