XN000022-1982-07-21 — Page 9

WEŁNESUAI, JULI

THIS SHOWED THAT AS THE NUMBER LIVING IN PUBLIC HOUSING AND SQUATTER AREAS DECREASED, THE NUMBER LIVING IN INSTITUTIONS CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASED.

REFERRING TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY APPEAL BOARD, MR LAW SAID THAT FROM 1978, WHEN THE BOARD WAS ESTABLISHED, AND UP TO 1982, 206 COMPLAINTS HAD BEEN HANDLED. OF THESE, 43 CASES WERE RESOLVED WITHOUT A HEARING WHILE IN THE OTHER 163 CASES, THE DECISIONS OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT WERE UPHELD IN 83 CASES, AND THOSE IN THE REMAINING 80 CASES WERE SUBSTITUTED BY THE BOARD'S RULINGS.

MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS INVOLVED PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, WITH CASES INVOLVING SPECIAL NEEDS ALLOWANCE AND THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS VICTIMS ASSISTANCE SCHEME COMING SECOND AND THIRD.

+THESE FIGURES SHOW THAT THE APPEAL BOARD IS SERVING ITS PURPOSE, MR LAW SAID.

MORE BUSES ON THE ROADS

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BUS SERVICES HAVE BEEN MUCH IMPROVED WITH MORE BUSES BEING PUT ON THE ROADS BY THE BUS COMPANIES.

DISCLOSING THIS TODAY (WEDNESDAY), THE COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT, MR PETER LEEDS, SAID TWO SEPARATE SURVEYS ON KMB AND CMB SERVICES HAD RECENTLY BEEN CONDUCTED BY HIS DEPARTMENT.

+THE SURVEY ON KMB SHOWED THAT THE SCHEDULED VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS ARE BEING MET,+ MR LEEDS SAID.

+AND AT THE TIME OF THE SURVEY, THE COMPANY WAS OPERATING 22 ADDITIONAL BUSES TO SUPPLEMENT THE OFFICIAL TIMETABLE REQUIREMENT OF 1 640 BUSES, HE ADDED.

A SIMILAR SURVEY ON CMB SHOWED THAT THE COMPANY WAS OPERATING SOME 30 BUSES SHORT OF TIMETABLE REQUIREMENTS IN THE MORNING.

+HOWEVER,+ MR LEEDS SAID, BY THE EVENING OF THE SURVEY DAY, THE SITUATION HAD IMPROVED AND THE COMPANY WAS ABLE TO COMPLY WITH THE TIMETABLE REQUIREMENTS BY HAVING 705 BUSES IN OPERATION.+

COMPARING WITH THE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS SURVEYS CONDUCTED ON CMB WHEN MUCH LARGER SHORTFALLS HAD BEEN RECORDED, MR LEEDS SAID THAT CMB HAD MADE CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS IN INCREASING THE AVAILABILITY OF BUSES TO MEET THE SCHEDULED REQUIREMENTS.

HE EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT THE COMPANY WOULD CONTINUE TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE STANDARDS OF SERVICE.