XN000022-1994-11-28 — Page 3

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1994

2

то

BENEFIT SOME "IN SHORT, WHILE ACCEPTING THAT THE PROPOSAL MAY OPERATORS AND PASSENGERS, THE EFFECT WILL NOT APPLY UNIFORMLY GMB OPERATORS AND ALL PASSENGERS IN THE TERRITORY, VASTLY DIFFERENT CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY OPERATE.

GMB ALL

"THERE

ALSO

GIVEN THE

OTHER

PUBLIC

FOR EXAMPLE, FRANCHISED

MAY

BE ADVERSE IMPLICATIONS

FOR AND OTHER PASSENGERS, TRANSPORT OPERATORS BUSES WHICH CARRY 34 PER CENT OF OUR DAILY COMMUTERS.

IT

IN ANY CASE, THE VIEWS AND PROPOSALS OF THE ASSOCIATION WILL BE ON THE INTO FULL ACCOUNT

THE CONSULTATION PROCESS IN GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSED MEASURES TO ADDRESS TRAFFIC CONGESTION, HE SAID.

TAKEN

WAS

TECHNICALLY

IT SPOKESMAN NOTED THAT

FEASIBLE TO THE INCREASE THE SEATING CAPACITY OF GMBS, AND SUCH INCREASE MIGHT HAVE A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON FARES FOR SOME GMB ROUTES.

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THERE BE THE FOLLOWING DISADVANTAGES:

WOULD

I.

IT WOULD REDUCE THE LEVEL OF PASSENGER COMFORT IN GMBS;

II.

IT

WOULD KERBSIDE REQUIRED;

CAUSE TRAFFIC BOARDING AND

AS LONGER TIME FOR PROBLEMS

WILL BE ALIGHTING ACTIVITIES

III. GMBS PLAY A SUPPLEMENTARY ROLE IN THE

HIERARCHY, BY PROVIDING A MORE FREQUENT AND HIGHER QUALITY

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

USING SMALLER SERVICE

IN INCREASE DIVIDING LINE COMPETITION

VEHICLES THAN

BUSES.

FURTHER

SEATING

WOULD ERODE BETWEEN GMBS AND BUSES, AND TO FRANCHISED PUBLIC BUSES.

THIS

ROLE,

BLUR

THE

POSE

GREATER

SOME ROUTES

IV.

OPERATED BY THE LATTER WITH MARGINAL VIABILITY AND PARTIAL COMPETITION FROM GMBS MAY HAVE TO BE ABANDONED OR MAY HAVE TO BE INCREASINGLY SUBSIDISED BY OTHER MORE VIABLE ROUTES;

AS A RESULT OF (III), THERE COULD BE GREATER PRESSURE

FARES, BUS

TRANSPORT BRACKET: AND

WHICH ARE USED BY PASSENGERS BELONGING

THE

ΤΟ

ON MAJORITY OF PUBLIC THE LOWER INCOME

V.

ΤΟ

WHICH

FOUR ALSO, IT EXERCISE

FURTHERMORE, THE PACE OF CONVERSION FROM RED MINIBUS (RMB)

A NEW WOULD

GMB ROUTE BE SLOWED DOWN. GMB REQUIRES, SAY, FIVE 16-SEAT RMBS WOULD ONLY REQUIRE 20-SEAT RMBS IF SEATING CAPACITY WERE INCREASED. HAS BEEN THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT'S PRACTICE TO CONSIDERABLE DISCRETION AND FLEXIBILITY TO INTRODUCE GMB ROUTES WHICH PARTLY DUPLICATE FRANCHISED BUS ROUTES, OFTEN THIS IS FOR BY OVERRULING OBJECTION FROM BUS OPERATORS. THE SAKE OF ENHANCING PUBLIC SERVICE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY

THE

BUS SERVICES VIABILITY OF CERTAIN HURTING BECAUSE THE CAPACITY AND MODE OF OPERATION OF GMBS

GMBS DIFFERENT. WHILE INCREASING THE SEATING CAPACITY OF MAY WELL IMPROVE THEIR VIABILITY, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THE INTERNAL BALANCE AND RELATIVITIES

THE PUBLIC WITHIN TRANSPORT HIERARCHY, THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT WILL HAVE NO MUCH ALTERNATIVE BUT TO APPLY ITS PLANNING CRITERIA IN A MORE RIGID MANNER THE OUTCOME WILL BE A NET LOSS TO то ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE A NET GAIN TRAVELLING PUBLIC

SIMPLY

ARE

THE

GMB

OPERATORS.

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