XN000022-1985-08-03 — Page 2

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1985

TRANSPORT COMPLAINTS ON THE DECLINE

*****

THE TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S TRANSPORT COMPLAINTS UNIT (TCU) RECORDED FEWER COMPLAINTS IN THE LAST MONTH OF THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1985 ALTHOUGH THE OVERALL COMPLAINT FIGURES FOR THE WHOLE QUARTER WAS HIGH.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF TCU, MR STEPHEN PANG, IN THE LATEST QUARTERLY REPORT RELEASED TODAY, REVEALED THAT THE TOTAL - NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS FROM APRIL TO JUNE AT 1 328 WAS 40 PER CENT UP ON THE PREVIOUS QUARTER'S TOTAL OF 950 AND ONLY FOUR PER CENT DOWN COMPARED WITH THE 1 384 COMPLAINTS IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

THE REPORT, HOWEVER,

SHOWED THAT COMPLAINTS MADE TO TCU WERE ON THE DECREASE FOLLOWING THE OPENING OF THE MTR ISLAND LINE ON MAY 31 THIS YEAR.

THE NUMBER FIRST WENT UP FROM 416 IN APRIL TO 552 IN MAY. IT THEN DROPPED BY 192 CASES TO 360 IN JUNE.

THE PATTERN WAS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE SAME PERIOD IN 1984 IN WHICH THERE WAS A CONTINUED INCREASE IN COMPLAINTS 341 IN APRIL, 479 IN MAY AND 564 IN JUNE.

THE DOWNWARD TREND IN JUNE 1985 WAS MAINLY DUE TO FEWER COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUS SERVICES AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS MONTH, THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUS SERVICES WAS REDUCED BY MORE THAN ONE-HALF FROM 159 TO 75. COMPLAINTS ABOUT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS ALSO WENT DOWN FROM 159 TO 95, A DROP OF 64 CASES.

ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT TURN IN JUNE 1985 WAS THAT THE TOTAL OF 360 COMPLAINTS WAS LESS THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE 564 COMPLAINTS IN JUNE 1984. THE MAJOR REDUCTION WAS AGAIN IN COMPLAINTS ABOUT BUS SERVICES AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. COMPLAINTS IN THE FORMER CATEGORY WERE REDUCED BY 60 PER CENT FROM 190 TO 75. IN LATTER CATEGORY, THE NUMBER WENT DOWN FROM 145 TO 95, A DROP OF 50 CASES.

MR PANG SAID THAT PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES WERE STILL THE MAIN SUBJECT OF COMPLAINTS AND ACCOUNTED FOR 551 CASES OR OVER TWO-FIFTHS OF ALL THE COMPLAINTS RECEIVED IN THE QUARTER.

AN AREA OF CONCERN WAS THAT THERE WERE MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT MALPRACTICES BY TAXI DRIVERS. THE NUMBER WENT UP FROM 15 IN THE LAST QUARTER TO 28, COMPLAINTS ABOUT OVERCHARGING INCREASED FROM FIVE CASES IN THE LAST QUARTER TO 12 CASES. COMPLAINTS CONCERNING REFUSAL TO ACCEPT HIRE ALSO INCREASED FROM FOUR TO NINE.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT INADEQUATE BUS SERVICES FOR KOWLOON AND THE NEW TERRITORIES CONTINUED TO DROP. NINETY-FOUR COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED AS AGAINST 122 IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR AND 101 IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE YEAR BEFORE.

/THE FIGURE