XN000022-1987-07-30 — Page 12

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THURSDAY, JULY 30, 1987

AFTER THE MTR ISLAND LINE HAD BEEN EXTENDED TO SHEUNG WAN IN MAY 1986, TCU RECORDED FEWER COMPLAINTS ABOUT CROSS HARBOUR BUSES. HOWEVER, THERE WERE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO INTRODUCE NEW CROSS HARBOUR ROUTES. TWO WERE INTRODUCED DURING THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW ROUTE 107 BETWEEN ABERDEEN AND KAI YIP IN KWUN TONG AND ROUTE 109 BETWEEN CENTRAL AND HO MAN TIN.

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THE STANDARD OF SERVICE OF THE FRANCHISED BUS COMPANIES WAS THE SUBJECT OF 769 COMPLAINTS, 133 CASES FEWER THAN IN 1985/86.

COMPLAINTS INVOLVING CMB TOTALLED 325. THE KOWLOON MOTOR BUS COMPANY WITH ALMOST THRICE THE FLEET SIZE OF CMB'S, ATTRACTED 406 COMPLAINTS. WHEN COMPARED WITH THE 468 COMPLAINTS RECORDED IN 1985/86 ABOUT CMB'S STANDARD OF SERVICE, THERE WAS A DROP OF 30 PER CENT. THERE WERE FEWER COMPLAINTS ABOUT CMB BUSES NOT KEEPING TO SCHEDULES FROM 155 IN 1985/86 TO 121 IN 1986/87. COMPLAINTS ABOUT CMB BUS DRIVERS DROPPED BY 17 PER CENT FROM 161 IN 1985/86 TO 133 IN 1986/87.

THERE WAS, HOWEVER, A GENERAL INCREASE IN COMPLAINTS ABOUT KMB'S STANDARD OF SERVICE. THE FIGURE CLIMBED FROM 330 IN 1985/86 TO 406 IN 1986/87. AN INCREASE OF 23 PER CENT. COMPLAINTS ABOUT NON-ADHERENCE TO SCHEDULED FREQUENCY ROSE FROM 117 IN 1985/86 TO 203 IN 1986/87. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A 10 PER CENT INCREASE IN

KMB' FLEET SIZE FROM 2,554 TO 2,810 DURING THE YEAR, COMPLAINTS ABOUT KMB BUS CAPTAINS ALSO ROSE BY 16 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR,

"A TOTAL OF 3,050 COMPLAINTS ABOUT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WERE RECEIVED IN THE YEAR AND OF THESE, 1,305 WERE RELATED TO ROAD CONGESTION. OTHER COMPLAINTS WERE TRAFFIC ARRANGEMENTS, TRAFFIC LIGHTS, VEHICLE OBSTRUCTION AND ILLEGAL PARKING", SAID MR RUMJAHN.

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OVER HALF (56 PER CENT) OF THE 1,305 COMPLAINTS ABOUT ROAD CONGESTION WERE GENERATED FROM SIX DISTRICTS

KWUN TONG (160) CENTRAL AND WESTERN (133), KOWLOON CITY (120), SHAM SHUI PO (112) + KWAI TSING (110) AND WAN CHAI (100). COMPLAINTS ABOUT ROAD CONGESTION IN THE NEW TERRITORIES MADE UP ONLY 24 PER CENT, AND ONE-THIRD OF THESE CASES WERK RELATED TO CONGESTION IN KWAI TSING DISTRICT.

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DURING THE YEAR, MR RUMJAHN SAID, SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

INCLUDING 14 TO ROAD CONGESTION WERE IMPLEMENTED IN 70 LOCATIONS HONG KONG, 32 IN KOWLOON AND 24 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TAXI SERVICE

TOTALLED 536 IN 1986/87,

OVER WHICH WAS 294 PER CENT, OR 400 COMPLAINTS,

THAT REGISTERED IN CASES, WERE 1985/86. OF THE 536 COMPLAINTS, OVER 85 PER CENT, OR 459 DIRECTED AGAINST MALPRACTICES OF TAXI DRIVERS.

/WITH THE