ENG-1991 — Page 271

TRANSPORT

White Paper on Transport Policy recognised competition as an important incentive towards the improvement of quality in bus service, and in July, Citybus Limited became Hong Kong's fourth franchised bus company through a new bus route tendering scheme.

While additional transport infrastructure and services will be introduced to support the new airport and port developments, continued emphasis will be placed on improving the efficiency and quality of services rendered by existing road and transport systems.

Administration

The Transport Branch of the Government Secretariat, headed by the Secretary for Transport, is responsible for overall policy formulation, direction and co-ordination of internal transport matters. The secretary is assisted by the Transport Advisory Committee, which advises the Governor in Council on major transport policies and issues. The committee has 17 appointed members, including the chairman and six government officials. The Secretary for Transport also chairs the Transport Policy Co-ordinating Committee which oversees the implementation of major internal transport policies.

The Transport Department and the Highways Department are responsible for the execution of transport policies and measures, and the highways construction and maintenance programme.

The Commissioner for Transport, the head of the Transport Department, is the authority for administering the Road Traffic Ordinance and legislation regulating public transport operations other than railways. His responsibilities cover strategic transport planning, road traffic management, government road tunnels, carparks and metered parking spaces, and the regulation of internal road and waterborne public transport. He is also the authority for the licensing of drivers and the registration, licensing and inspection of vehicles.

While the Police Force is the principal agency for enforcing traffic legislation and prosecuting offenders, the prosecution unit of the Transport Department also handles prosecutions involving safety defects found on buses, disqualifications under the Driving Offence Points System and breaches of vehicle safety regulations and government tunnel regulations. In 1991, the unit conducted 15 prosecutions in respect of buses and other vehicles, 3 245 cases for which disqualification was sought under the Driving Offence Points System and 127 prosecutions in respect of breach of tunnel and other regulations.

A Transport Tribunal, set up under the Road Traffic Ordinance and chaired by a non-government official, provides the public with a channel of appeal against decisions made by the Commissioner for Transport in respect of registration and licensing of vehicles, issue of hire car permits and passenger service licences, and designation of car testing centres.

The Director of Highways heads the Highways Department, which is responsible for designing and building all highways, their repair and maintenance, and also for studying new railway networks.

Planning

The formulation of a territorial transport infrastructure strategy up to the year 2011, taking into account the port and airport projects, is being undertaken by updating the Second Comprehensive Transport Study. Detailed transport planning is also carried out at territorial and district levels to address transport and traffic problems. In the past year,

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