XN000022-1977-04-08 — Page 1

W

HK

香港政府

GIS

新聞處

DAILY INFORMATION BULLETIN

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1977

30 PER CENT INCREASE IN PROVISIONAL DRIVING LICENCES

******

THERE WERE 522,469 LICENSED DRIVERS IN HONG KONG AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT.

LEVEL.

THIS REPRESENTS AN INCREASE OF FIVE PER CENT ON THE 1975

DURING THE YEAR, 75,492 PROVISIONAL DRIVING LICENCES WERE ISSUED, COMPARED WITH 57,654 IN 1975 SHOWING A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 30 PER CENT.

A TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID TODAY DESPITE THE MODEST INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF NEW VEHICLES ON THE ROAD LAST YEAR, THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR DRIVING LICENCES AND TESTS REMAINED AT A VERY HIGH RATE.

WITH MORE DRIVING EXAMINERS PUT INTO SERVICE, THE SPOKESMAN INDICATED, THE DEPARTMENT WAS POSSIBLE TO TEST 175,000 CANDIDATES LAST YEAR. THIS AMOUNTED TO AN INCREASE OF 3.6 PER CENT OVER THE PRECEDING YEAR.

+HOWEVER, HE ADDED, +AS HAS BEEN FOUND IN THE PAST, AS SOON AS THE WAITING TIME FOR TESTS IS SHORTENED, THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF NEW APPLICATIONS AND THE WAITING TIME THEN INCREASES.

AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, 92,000 CANDIDATES WERE STILL WAITING FOR TESTS AND THE WAITING TIME VARIED FROM 3-1/2 MONTHS TO 10 MONTHS, DEPENDING ON THE CATEGORY OF VEHICLE.

THE SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT FOLLOWING THE RESUMPTION OF DRIVING TESTS FOR PUBLIC LIGHT BUS LAST MAY, THE DEPARTMENT RECEIVED OVER 15,000 APLICATIONS.

REFERRING TO THE INDOOR DRIVING INSTRUCTION CENTRE, HE NOTED THAT THE TRAINING PROVIDED CONTINUED TO PROVE SO POPULAR WITH LEARNER DRIVERS THAT ALL COURSES REMAINED FULLY BOOKED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

THE CENTRE WAS SET UP IN JUNE 1974 AND SINCE ITS INCEPTION HAS TRAINED 8,310 PEOPLE.

/IT PROVIDES

Issued by Government Information Services, Beaconsfield House, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-233191

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