ENG-1979 — Page 217

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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

Transport Administration The Governor in Council is advised by a government-appointed Transport Advisory Committee on the broad issues of transport policy aimed at improving the movement of people and freight. The Commissioner for Transport is the statutory authority responsible for the planning and regulation of all forms of public transport; vehicle registration and licensing; driving tests and licences; the examination of vehicles; the administration of government road tunnels and off-street carparks; and the provision of on-street metered parking spaces. He also undertakes statutory duties under the Road Traffic Ordinance and subsidiary legislation, and is advised on detailed proposals for transport and traffic arrangements by the Standing Conference on Road Use and the Standing Committee on Waterborne Transport.

During the year, a number of amendments were made to road traffic legislation including an increase in taxi fares allied to the introduction of severer penalties for misconduct by taxi drivers. New sections were added to the principal Road Traffic Ordinance to provide for: the setting up of a Transport Tribunal; the compulsory mechanical examination of vehicles with the imposition of a charge; the power to refuse registration; powers to suspend vehicle licences and to issue vehicle repair orders; and the designation of vehicle examiners and examination centres. A general review of all road traffic legislation also was proceeding in 1979.

Licensing

During 1979, the Transport Department's five vehicle examination centres carried out 52,397 inspections. Most were in connection with the registration and licensing of vehicles, including goods vehicles first registered before 1971 which became subject to a compulsory annual examination from September 1, 1979. Inspection of these older goods vehicles was made possible by the opening of the new semi-automated multi-lane Kowloon Bay Vehicle Examination Centre at Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong. On October 1, 1979, the Road Traffic (Amendment) (No. 3) Ordinance 1978 came into effect. In brief, it provides for the charging of fees for vehicle inspections together with the authority to suspend vehicle licences if a vehicle is found to be unroadworthy.

The number of registered vehicles continued to rise in 1979 reaching 260,928 by the end of the year. Compared with 1978, this was an increase of 27,778 vehicles or 12 per cent. The bulk of the increase was in private cars; during the year a total of 20,713 private cars were registered. Detailed statistics are in Appendix 36.

The demand for driving licences remained high. The total number of licences held by Hong Kong residents was 634,791 by the end of 1979 compared with 599,373 in 1978. A new series of vehicle registration marks starting with the letter 'C' began in August, 1979.

A new Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme began operating in May. Under the scheme, immediate cash assistance is given to victims of traffic accidents and their depend- ants, irrespective of which party might be at fault in causing an accident. To finance the scheme, all driving licence holders are required to contribute $25 a year and vehicle owners $75 a year upon the issue or renewal of their licences. The Transport Department was made responsible for collecting the levies for this scheme and for crediting the amount to the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Fund administered by the Director of Social Welfare. During the second half of 1979, government drivers were issued with ordinary Hong Kong driving licences enabling them to operate government vehicles and still be fully covered under the scheme.