XN000022-1984-03-26 — Page 5

MONDAY, MARCH 26, 1984

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FRANCHISED BUSES MOST POPULAR IN 1981, SURVEY SHOWS

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FRANCHISED BUSES WERE IN 1981 THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT, TAKING UP 34 PER CENT OF TRIPS BY PEOPLE, ACCORDING TO A SURVEY CARRIED OUT FOR THE YEAR.

OTHER FORMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT MOST USED IN 1981 WERE PUBLIC LIGHT BUSES (14 PER CENT), PRIVATE OR SCHOOL BUSES OR COACHES (12 PER CENT), TAXIS (EIGHT PER CENT), AND THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY (7.9 PER CENT).

THESE FIGURES ARE SHOWN IN A +1981 SPECIAL SURVEY ON TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS+, WHICH USED A TWO PER CENT RANDOM SAMPLE OF HOUSEHOLDS.

IN THE SURVEY CARRIED OUT BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, DETAILED TRANSPORT INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED FROM ALL PERSONS AGED FOUR AND OVER IN THE SAMPLE, BUT DID NOT INCLUDE HOTEL TRANSJENTS, INMATES IN INSTITUTIONS AND PEOPLE LIVING IN THE OUTLYING ISLANDS AND SOME REMOTE AREAS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES.

SOME 27 670 DOMESTIC HOUSEHOLDS WERE SELECTED FOR THE SURVEY, OF WHICH 22 904 OR 83 PER CENT

OR 83 PER CENT -- WERE SUCCESSFULLY INTERVIEWED.

DETAILS OF THE SURVEY ARE CONTAINED IN A SPECIAL REVIEW OF THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS FOR JANUARY 1984, JUST PUBLISHED AND ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, AT $25 A COPY.

THE REPORT STATES THAT TRANSPORTATION MODELS DEVELOPED FROM THE HONG KONG COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORT STUDY CTS -- IN 1973-76 HAD BEEN USED EXTENSIVELY AS THE BASIS FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND POLICY FORMULATION. BUT WITH THE MANY CHANGES OCCURRING IN TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS SINCE THEN, IN PARTICULAR, AS A RESULT OF THE AVAILABILITY OF THE MTR IN 1981, IT WAS FELT THAT A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORT SURVEY BE CARRIED OUT.

THE SPECIAL SURVEY ON TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS WAS CONCEIVED AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, WITH THE OBJECT OF ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE DATA BASE FOR TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND FOR THE VALIDATION OF THE CTS MODELS.

THE SPECIAL REVIEW OUTLINES THE METHODOLOGY USED IN THE SURVEY AND ALSO PRESENTS A SUMMARY OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS.

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