ENG-1982 — Page 231

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Transport

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RAPID and dense urban development, the growth of new towns and sustained economic activity continued to impose a heavy burden on Hong Kong's internal transport system in 1982. With a daily average of 8.2 million passenger_trips on public transport and some 340 000 vehicles of all descriptions and sizes using the roads of Hong Kong, the smooth and efficient movement of people and goods is of great importance.

The main objective is to maintain and improve the mobility of both people and goods through an integrated, multi-modal transport system. This involves a programme to improve the road network; expansion of all forms of public transport, especially off-road modes; and measures to bring about more economic use of the road space available. The task of achieving this falls mainly on the Transport Branch and Lands and Works Branch and, at the operational level, the Highways Office of the Engineering Development Department, the Transport Department and the Traffic Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.

Administration

The Transport Branch, which was set up as a separate policy branch in the Government Secretariat in September 1981 and is headed by the Secretary for Transport, is respon- sible for overall policy formulation and the direction and co-ordination of all transport matters. In discharging this responsibility, the Secretary for Transport is assisted on all major transport policy issues by the Transport Advisory Committee (TAC), which advises the Governor-in-Council on transport policies. The TAC, chaired by an unofficial, has 11 unofficial and seven official members. Internally, the Secretary for Transport is advised by the Transport Policy Co-ordinating Committee (TPCC), of which he

is chairman.

The Transport Department is responsible for carrying out policy and for regulation of Hong Kong's internal transport system. The Commissioner for Transport, who heads the Transport Department, is the statutory authority under the Road Traffic Ordinance and under other legislation dealing with public transport operations. As such, he is responsible for road traffic management and the regulation of internal road and waterborne public transport. On these matters, he is advised by the Standing Conference on Road Use and the Standing Committee on Waterborne Transport. He is also the licensing authority for drivers and vehicles, as well as the authority for the management of all government road tunnels, car parks and metered parking spaces.

A Transport Tribunal, chaired by an unofficial and set up under the Road Traffic Ordinance, provides members of the public with an avenue for the review of certain decisions made by the Commissioner for Transport, for instance with regard to hire car permits and the suspension of vehicle licences.