TNAG-1509-FCO40-2067-Hong-Kong-roads-and-traffic-legislation-1986 — Page 136

COMMENTS OF THE MAJOR BIBLIC TRANSPORT OPERATORS ON THE REVIEW FINDINGS

The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd.

China Motor Bus Co. Ltd.

Kowloon Canton Railway

Corporation

Mass Transit Railway

Corporation

ANNEX D

The Hong Kong & Yaumati

Ferry Co. Ltd.

Star Ferry Co. Ltd. & Hong Kong Tramways Ltd.

on the Review's recommendation that no radical changes should be made to the current

institutional structure

of providing and

regulating public transport

agreed strongly that public transport should not be "nationalised"

on the guidelines recommended by the

Review for the planning

of new bus routes

criticised the guidelines as being too stringent and limiting choice; contended that inter- modal competition was beneficial to passengers

criticised the guidelines as biased towards rail protection and limiting passengers' choice; criticised the guidelines for discriminating

between existing routes and new routes; contended that express buses were beneficial to passengers both in the short term and long term, even if they duplicated rail services

agreed that no central authority should be set up and that no radical changes to the current institutical structure were needed

agreed strongly that no central authority should be set up; advocated a gradual move towards deregulation and consideration of free competition among nodes

BL

supported the guidelines for encouraging offe street modes.

supported the guidelines as an improvement over the existing situation; wanted the guidelines to apply to existing routes as well as new routes

criticised the guidelines as biased towards rail, unhelpful towards ferries, and limiting passengers' choice

agreed that no central authority should be set up;

also agreed that some co-ordination was necessary, provided that competition continued to be the main regulatory force

criticised the guide- lines as biased towards rail and against ferries

on the Review's recommendation that the rail corporations should be encouraged to enter into financial arrange- ments with bus operators to provide feeders, and

to provide their own feeders where the bus operators did not wish to do so

suggested the rail corporations should subsidise unprofitable feeders

would welcome subsidy

from the rail corporationa to operate feeders

wanted even greater flexibility in providing the corporations' own feeders

4.

on the Review' a recommendation that government should encourage integration

of fares among operators and review of fares by operators

advised that KMB was already studying fare integration with the rail corporations;

queried the meaning of review of fare structure

would object strongly to fare co-ordination by

government fringing

on KCK', có independence contended th were not hir fare differe been over-el the Review

rcial

ail fares that had

isized in

would object strongly to fare co-ordination by government;

contended that rail fares were not high and that fare differentials had been over-emphasized in the Review;

contended that operators were well capable of co- ordinating fares without government intervention, and advised that the MIRC & KB were jointly studying this

cautioned that fare co-ordination was dangerous as it would erode the competitive edge from Hong Kong's transport system