XN000022-1986-01-04 — Page 3

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 1986

MR PANG EXPLAINED THAT THE REDUCTION WAS DUE TO FEWER COMPLAINTS FROM THE RESIDENTS OF SHA TIN AND TUEN MUN WHERE BUS SERVICES HAD BEEN STRENGTHENED DURING THE YEAR.

+COMPLAINTS ABOUT INADEQUATE EXTERNAL BUS ROUTES FROM NEW TOWN RESIDENTS WERE OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY REQUESTS FOR DIRECT BUS SERVICES TO URBAN KOWLOON, MR PANG SAID.

THE COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT HAD ADVISED TCU THAT CONSIDERATION OF SUCH REQUESTS WAS LIMITED BY THE LACK OF OFF- STREET TERMINAL SPACES, ESPECIALLY IN URBAN KOWLOON. ALL PROPOSED NEW ROUTES OR EXTENSION OF CURRENT ROUTES FROM THE NEW TERRITORIES TO URBAN KOWLOON WOULD HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF THE IR RESPECTIVE PRIORITIES AND JUSTIFICATIONS. EXISTING PARALLEL TRANSPORT SERVICES INCLUDING THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY AND WHETHER OTHER AREAS HAVE A MORE URGENT NEED FOR EXTRA BUS SERVICES WOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.

AFTER THE OPENING OF THE ISLAND LINE IN MAY, TCU RECORDED FEWER COMPLAINTS ABOUT DIFFICULTY IN BOARDING CROSS HARBOUR BUSES. HOWEVER, THERE WERE MORE SUGGESTIONS FOR NEW ROUTES.

MR PANG SAID THAT THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT HAD AGREED TO THE STARTING OF TWO NEW CROSS HARBOUR BUS ROUTES - ROUTE 107 BETWEEN ABERDEEN AND SAN PO KONG AND ROUTE 109 BETWEEN CENTRAL AND HO MAN TIN.

+ACCORDING TO THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT. OTHER PROPOSALS TO EXTEND THE CROSS HARBOUR BUS NETWORK WOULD BE CONSIDERED LATER BECAUSE A FULL TRANSPORT REVIEW IS UNDERWAY. THE REVIEW CONCERNS THE GENERAL QUESTION OF INTEGRATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES AND THE RELATED ISSUES OF FREEDOM OF COMPETITION, THE CO-ORDINATION OF FARES AND THE LEVEL OF REGULATION TO BE APPLIED BY GOVERNMENT, HE SAID.

THE STANDARD OF SERVICE OF THE FRANCHISED BUS COMPANIES WAS THE SUBJECT OF 753 COMPLAINTS, 31 CASES FEWER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

COMPLAINTS INVOLVING THE CHINA MOTOR BUS COMPANY TOTALLED 393. THE KOWLOON MOTOR BUS COMPANY, WITH MORE THAN TWICE THE FLEET SIZE AND RIDERSHIP OF CMB'S, ATTRACTED A LOWER NUMBER OF 272.

+A TOTAL OF 2 068 COMPLAINTS ABOUT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WERE RECEIVED IN THE YEAR. OF THESE COMPLAINTS, 1 019 WERE RELATED TO ROAD CONGESTION. THEY WERE MAINLY RELATED TO TRAFFIC ARRANGEMENTS, TRAFFIC LIGHTS AND VEHICLE OBSTRUCTION,+ SAID MR PANG,

MORE THAN HALF OF THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT ROAD CONGESTION WERE GENERATED FROM FIVE DISTRICTS: KWUN TONG, WAN CHAI, EASTERN, KOWLOON CITY AND YAU MA TEI. COMPLAINTS ABOUT ROAD CONGESTION IN THE NEW TERRITORIES MADE UP ONLY 22 PER CENT AND ONE-QUARTER OF THESE CASES WERE ABOUT CONGESTION AT THE LION ROCK TUNNEL AND TS ING YI BRIDGE.

/AFTER THE