ENG-1974 — Page 209

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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

fifth of a mile. At present, there are 4,754 licensed taxis which carry an estimated 563,000 passengers a day. At the end of the year, consideration was being given to introducing taxis for the New Territories.

Licensed public (hire) cars, which totalled 1,264 at the end of 1974, differ from taxis in that they are available for hire only on a prearranged basis with the charge being negotiated between the hirer and the driver. Many public cars are owned by hotels for the exclusive use of their guests.

Transport Administration

Advising the Governor in Council on broad issues of transport policy, with a view to improving the movement of people and freight, is a government-appointed body, the Transport Advisory Committee. During the year, the committee was re- constituted with the Secretary for the Environment as chairman, so that its respon- sibilities might be more closely related to Hong Kong's general environmental problems. Secretariat for the committee is provided by the Transport Department.

The Transport Department is the statutory authority responsible for planning and regulating public transport services. It also carries out a wide range of duties including vehicle licensing, driving tests and vehicle inspections and statutory func- tions under the Road Traffic Ordinance, and legislation relating to the public transport companies.

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During the year, a number of amendments were made to regulations under the Road Traffic Ordinance. One significant change makes it compulsory for petrol- engined vehicles, imported into Hong Kong and manufactured after November 1, 1974, to comply with the provisions of Regulation 15 made by the Economic Com- mission for Europe (ECE) which sets out in detail the manufacturing standards and tests required of these vehicles to control the emission of exhaust gases. There are plans to follow this up with similar controls on new diesel-engined vehicles. Another change in the regulations provides for the introduction of new road signs which are based on a code of international signs agreed by a United Nations convention and which have already been adopted by many countries. These new signs are largely symbolic and do away as much as possible with writing, thus enabling motorists to identify a symbol more readily and speedily.

Licensing

The year saw a significant drop in the number of registered vehicles. At December 31, there were 193,439 registered vehicles compared with 202,775 at the end of 1973 (vehicle statistics are given in Appendix 35). Demand for driving licences was steady. Their number at the end of the year totalled 474,531, an increase of 20,961 over 1973. During the year, several changes were made in respect of driving licences. Driving licence records have now been computerised; vehicle licence records were put on computer some years ago. This change, which is related to a system of fixed penalties for driving offences to be introduced by the police, made it possible for a new laminated card type of driving licence to be introduced to replace the booklet type. To improve