XN000022-1994-02-25 — Page 13

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1994

11

POLICY TO PROMOTE OFF-STREET DRIVER TRAINING TO STAY ON

THE GOVERNMENT WILL CONTIINUE ITS POLICY TO PROMOTE

OFF-STREET

DRIVER TRAINING.

THE STATUS QUO

OF GIVING INCENTIVE ΤΟ OFF-STREET DRIVING SCHOOLS SHOULD BE MAINTAINED, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY (FRIDAY).

HE WAS RESPONDING ΤΟ ALLEGATIONS BY THE PRIVATE DRIVING INSTRUCTORS (PIS) THAT THEY WERE UNFAIRLY TREATED BY THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT THROUGH SHOWING FAVOURITISM TOWARDS THE HONG KONG SCHOOL OF MOTORING (HKSM) IN TERMS OF WAITING TIMES FOR DRIVING TESTS.

THE SPOKESMAN SAID RESULTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON THIS MATTER SHOWED THAT THE PIS ALLEGATION WAS NOT SUBSTANTIATED.

HE SAID THE POLICY TO PROMOTE OFF-STREET DRIVER TRAINING WAS TO ENHANCE THE SAFETY OF THE LEARNER DRIVERS AND OTHER ROAD USERS AND REDUCE CONGESTION ON ROADS.

"THIS IS DONE BY GRANTING REDUCED WAITING TIME TO SUCH DRIVING TEST CANDIDATES. A MOVE BY THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT TO RESTRICT OR HAMPER THE EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF THE HKSM WILL BE A RETROGRADE STEP IN CARRYING OUT THIS POLICY AND AGAINST THE PUBLIC INTEREST, HE SAID.

中叶

THE SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE TEST APPOINTMENT SYSTEMS BETWEEN STUDENTS OF PIS AND HKSM WERE FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT.

STUDENTS OF PIS MAKE THEIR DRIVING TEST APPOINTMENTS AT THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT AFTER PASSING THE WRITTEN TESTS WHEREAS, STUDENTS OF HKSM MAKE THEIR APPOINTMENTS VIA THE SCHOOL AFTER THEY HAVE THE FULL SETS OF LESSONS WHICH THEY HAVE TO ATTEND.

BOOKED

IT IS THEREFORE IMPOSSIBLE TO COME UP WITH A FOOLPROOF TO ENABLE PROPER COMPARISON TO BE MADE.

FORMULA

THE

OF

ON MARKET SHARES, THE SPOKESMAN SAID PIS WERE IN FACT GETTING THE SHARE AS THE HKSM ONLY ACCOUNTED FOR 37 PER CENT LION'S MARKET SHARE AT PRESENT, AND THE WEIGHTED AVERAGE WAITING TIME HKSM STUDENTS IN 1993 AS A WHOLE WAS ONLY 20 PER CENT THAT OF NON-SCHOOL STUDENTS.

SHORTER

FOR

THAN

"SINCE 1983, IT HAS TRAINED MORE THAN 180,000 STUDENTS. IN 1993 ALONE, IT CONDUCTED OVER 500,000 DRIVING LESSON HOURS ON ITS OFF- STREET SITES, CONSIDERABLY REDUCING THE IMPACT OF LEARNER DRIVER TRAINING ON HONG KONG'S ALREADY OVER-CONGESTED ROADS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

HKSM AS THE PUBLIC ARE GIVEN THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THE AND PIS IN TAKING THEIR LEARNER DRIVING LESSONS, THERE IS NO QUESTION

ΤΟ OF UNFAIRNESS

THE CONSUMERS UNDER THE PRESENT ARRANGEMENT OF ALLOCATING DRIVING TEST APPOINTMENTS TO STUDENTS OF HRSM AND PIS, ADDED.

HE

/THE SPOKESMAN