XN000022-1996-03-06 — Page 93

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Government's public transport policy reiterated

The Secretary for Transport, Mr Haider Barma, today (Wednesday) reiterated that the Government's fundamental policy on public transport was that all such services should be provided by the private sector without any subsidy.

Speaking at Legislative Council on a resolution relating to Star Ferry fare adjustments, Mr Barma said this formula had served the territory well and Hong Kong risked changing this at the community's peril.

He said the accounts had now been audited and verified that Star Ferry had suffered a loss of $4.79 million last year and therefore, to be realistic and pragmatic, the very modest fare increase sought was fully justified.

End

Ferry Services Order

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Haider Barma, in the motion debate on the Ferry Services (The "Star" Ferry Company, Limited) (Determination of Fares) (Amendment) Order 1996 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

—

Some Members of this Council seem to enjoy the merry-go-round. Virtually every time when proposals to revise fees and charges are tabled in this Council or when applications are submitted by public transport operators to increase their fares we have to box and cox. The Administration does not begrudge Honourable Members the right to exarnine and scrutinise such proposals indeed, it is because we fully recognise this to be a legitimate discharge of their responsibilities that we in turn do our best to provide all the information that is necessary and that can be made available to facilitate the process. However, after all the facts and figures have been provided and it has been clearly demonstrated that a public transport operator needs a fare increase because the company would otherwise sustain a loss, the stubborn adherence to indefensible principles on the part of some political parties and Members, and their continued attempts to frustrate fare adjustments is beyond comprehension and certainly not in the wider public interest. This scenario applies to the Motion now before the Council pertaining to the Star Ferry Company Limited.