XN000022-1977-07-27 — Page 6

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1977

+ THEREFORE, THE RATIO BETWEEN MTR FARE AND PUBLIC BUS FARE RANGES FROM 3.3 TO 8.3,+ HE SAID, AND MAY BE EVEN HIGHER BY 1986, BASED ON THE HISTORICALLY LOWER FREQUENCY OF INCREASES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES.

FOR EXAMPLE, HE EXPLAINED, SINCE 1946 PUBLIC BUS FARES HAD BEEN CHANGED THREE OR FOUR TIMES WHEREAS TRAMWAY FARES HAD ONLY BEEN CHANGED TWICE SO THAT BETWEEN 1946 AND 1975, THE AVERAGE RATE OF INCREASE IN PUBLIC BUS AND TRAM FARES WAS ABOUT 1.5 TO 2 PER CENT PER ANNUM, SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW THE 7 PER CENT ASSUMED BY THE CORPORATION.

IT MUST BE APPRECIATED THEREFORE, THAT IF THE FARE STRUCTURE PROPOSED BY THE CORPORATION WERE ACCEPTED. +THEN ARE WE IN EFFECT UNNECESSARILY FORCING THE PACE OF INCREASE IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES?+ MR. CHEN ASKED, AND IF THE 7 PER CENT ANNUAL INCREASE IN THE MTR FARE STRUCTURE WAS ACCEPTED. +ARE WE NOT SETTING A PRECEDENT FOR OTHER PUBLIC UTILITIES TO FOLLOW IN FUTURE?+

HE DOUBTED VERY MUCH WHETHER THE MTR WOULD BE COMPETITIVE ENOUGH TO ATTRACT 1.8 MILLION PASSENGERS PER DAY IF THE FARE RATIO BETWEEN IT AND FRANCHISED BUSES WERE MAINTAINED,

MR. CHEN SAID HE WAS MOST CONCERNED ABOUT ANOTHER ASSUMPTION MADE BY THE CORPORATION THAT SOME +RESHAPING OF BUS AND PLE SERVICES+ WOULD BE NECESSARY TO FIT IN WITH THE EXTENDED MTR SYSTEM.

FURTHERMORE, HE ADDED, THERE IS ALREADY ANTICIPATION, ON THE PART OF THE CORPORATION, OF A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF BUSES AND PLB'S OPERATING OVER MTR ROUTES.

+ALL THESE POINT TO THE ULTIMATE CREATION OF A MONOPOLY FOR THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY, UNLESS RECEIVE AN ASSURANCE FROM GOVERNMENT THAT THIS IS NOT THE INTENTION BEHIND THE ASSUMPTION +RESHAPING OF BUS AND PLB SERVICES+, I SHALL OPPOSE THE MOTION BEFORE COUNCIL, HE SAID.

MR. CHEN SAID HE DID NOT DISAGREE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF THE NEED FOR THE PROPOSED TSUEN WAN EXTENSION. +BUT I AM OF THE OPINION THAT IT SHOULD ONLY BE CONTEMPLATED AFTER THE CORPORATION HAS PROVED THE EXPECTED BENEFITS OF THE MODIFIED INITIAL SYSTEM, WHEREBY THE VARIOUS ASSUMPTIONS MADE IN JUSTIFYING ITS VIABILITY CAN BE FULLY VERIFIED OR OTHERWISE, HE SAID.

THE HON. JAMES WU ALSO SPOKE ON THE PROPOSED FARE STRUCTURE OF THE MTR AND THE +RESHAPING+ OF OTHER FORMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT, THE EFFECTS OF WHICH, HE SAID, ON THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC AS FAR AS TIME AND COST WERE CONCERNED, WERE NOT CLEAR.

FOR INSTAT