XN000022-1984-06-07 — Page 5

THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1984

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THE SECRETARY EMPHASISED THAT THE PRESENT KING'S ROAD SERVICES WILL BE MAINTAINED AT THEIR PRESENT LEVEL OF SERVICE AND THAT THE COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT AND THE DEPARTMENT WILL MONITOR CMB'S PERFORMANCE ACCORDINGLY, TO MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT THE STANDARD IS MAINTAINED. THE NEW SERVICE, HE NOTED, WOULD ALSO OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE TO PLB PASSENGERS WHO PAY FOR EXAMPLE $6 FOR THE RIDE FROM CHAI WAN TO CENTRAL.

THE COMMISSIONER WILL ALSO MONITOR THE NEW IEC TEMPORARY ROUTES, AS HE DOES ALL TEMPORARY ROUTES. AFTER DISCUSSION WITH UMELCO THIS MORNING, THE COMMISSIONER HAS AGREED TO MAKE A SPECIAL REVIEW AFTER THREE MONTHS AND THE RESULTS WILL BE FORWARDED TO UMELCO AND THE DISTRICT BOARD AND MADE PUBLIC. THE COMMISSIONER WILL ACTUALLY MONITOR THE SITUATION ON A WEEKLY BASIS, BUT OBVIOUSLY A PERIOD OF TIME IS NECESSARY BEFORE ANY FIRM CONCLUSIONS CAN BE DRAWN.

ASKED WHY THE DISTRICT BOARD HAD NOT BEEN CONSULTED IN THIS CASE, AS THEY REGULARLY ARE UNDER THE AGREED PROCEDURES, THE SECRETARY REPEATED WHAT HAD ALREADY BEEN SAID ON THIS POINT- NAMELY THAT DISCUSSIONS WITH CMB HAD NOT PROCEEDED SATISFACTORILY ENOUGH TO ENABLE THE FULL NORMAL PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED. THE DISTRICT BOARD HAD CONSIDERED THE ROUTES, BUT IT HAD NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO GET THE PROPOSED FARES TO THEM IN TIME.

THE COMMISSIONER CONSIDERED THAT IN THE INTERESTS OF TRAVELLERS, THE ROUTES SHOULD BE OPERATING ON THE DAY THAT THE IEC OPENED, AND HENCE THE DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS COULD ONLY BE INFORMED ALMOST AT THE LAST MINUTE. THE DISTRICT BOARDS WILL BE CONSULTED ABOUT ANY CHANGES IN THE TEMPORARY ROUTES AND ABOUT ANY PERMANENT ROUTES WHICH MAY BE PROPOSED.

IN REPLY TO A QUESTION ABOUT CMB'S VIEWS OF FARE LEVELS, THE SECRETARY SAID THAT CMB (LIKE OTHER BUS COMPANIES) HAD FOR A LONG TIME ACCEPTED AND OPERATED PREMIUM FARES ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF ROUTES, AND HAD ADVANCED NO REASON WHY THESE NEW PREMIUM ROUTES SHOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM EXISTING PREMIUM ROUTES. CMB HAD SUGGESTED VARIOUS OTHER FARE LEVELS, BUT HAD NOT PUT FORWARD ANY EXPLANATION OR DETAILS TO JUSTIFY THEM. THEY HAD NOT EXPLAINED FOR EXAMPLE WHY THEY THINK IT POSSIBLE TO RUN THE 1EC ROUTES AT LOWER FARE LEVELS, WITHOUT INVESTIGATING THE POSSIBILITY OF DOING THE SAME FOR OTHER PREMIUM ROUTES.

THE SECRETARY EMPHASISED THAT THE ROUTES ARE TEMPORARY, THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF PASSENGER TRAFFIC WILL BE MONITORED CLOSELY AND APPROPRIATE CHANGES, AS NECESSARY, WILL BE PROPOSED TO THE DISTRICT BOARDS. FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEYNOTE IN THIS TEMPORARY SITUATION.

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