XN000022-1981-05-24 — Page 3

2.

SUNDAY, MAY 24, 1981

MORE PEOPLE AIRING COMPLAINTS ABOUT PUBLIC TRANSPORT

******

MORE PEOPLE ARE AIRING THEIR COMPLAINTS ABOUT PUBLIC TRANSPORT THROUGH THE TRANSPORT COMPLAINTS UNIT OF THE TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

ANNOUNCING THIS TODAY, THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE UNIT, MR JAMES KWAN, SAID THAT SINCE THE UNIT WAS SET UP LAST SEPTEMBER, THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS HAS RISEN FROM 61 TO 76 A WEEK.

IN THE PAST SEVEN MONTHS, THE UNIT HANDLED 1 168 COMPLAINTS. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE COMPLAINANTS WERE SATISFIED WITH THE EXPLANATIONS GIVEN BY THE TRANSPORT AUTHORITIES, HE SAID. MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS WERE ABOUT BUS SERVICES,

+OF THE 987 COMPLAINTS RECEIVED DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR, 422 CASES OR 43 PER CENT, CONCERNED BUS SERVICES,+ MR KWAN SAID.

+1 AM, HOWEVER, MORE CONCERNED ABOUT COMPLAINTS CONNECTED WITH THE BEHAVIOUR OF BUS DRIVERS AND THEIR FAILURE TO OBSERVE BUS STOPS.+

+ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF THESE COMPLAINTS IS SMALL IN RELATION TO THE LARGE VOLUME OF PASSENGERS CARRIED BY KOWLOON MOTOR BUS CO AND CHINA MOTOR BUS CO, WE DO REALISE THAT THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC IS PARTICULARLY ANNOYED BY SUCH INCIDENTS.+

MR KWAN POINTED OUT THAT HALF OF THE 166 COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE BUS SERVICES WERE FROM PEOPLE LIVING IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.

IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, THERE HAD BEEN MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUS SERVICES IN SHA TIN THAN IN OTHER PARTS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES,

DURING THE QUARTER UNDER REVIEW, 335 COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED ABOUT TRAFFIC ENGINEERING ARRANGEMENTS, INCLUDING TRAFFIC CONGESTION. THE MAIN PROBLEM AREAS WERE SHAU KEI WAN ROAD/KING'S ROAD, POK FU LAM ROAD AND HING FONG ROAD.

IN MOST CASES, THE PROBLEMS WERE ALREADY KNOWN, AND EITHER SHORT-TERM TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SCHEMES OR LONG-TERM ROAD PROJECTS WERE PLANNED TO CORRECT THE SITUATIONS,

MAJOR PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR WERE: INADEQUATE BUS SERVICES TO RENNIE'S MILL SHARING OF THE MINI-BUS STAND IN SAI KUNG BY TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLIC LIGHT BUSES (ORDINARY PLBS AND MAXICABS), AND THE NOISE FROM BRAKES IN THE NEW LEYLAND BUSES USED BY BOTH KME AND CMB.

/3