ENG-1997 — Page 313

TRANSPORT

Aberdeen and Wan Chai are being implemented in two stages from August 1997 to mid-1998. These inter-district bus-only lanes are expected to shorten bus journey times, make services more reliable and attract more commuters to use buses instead of private cars, in turn alleviating traffic congestion.

Minibuses

Hong Kong's minibuses are licensed to carry a maximum of 16 seated passengers. There were 6 742 minibuses in 1997. Of these, 4 350 were public light buses (PLB), and 2 392 private light buses. Private light buses are authorised to carry only group passengers and may not collect separate fares.

There are two types of PLBs: 'green' and 'red' minibuses, whose roofs are coloured accordingly. Their operation is regulated by a passenger service licence.

Green minibuses provide services according to specified schedules of service which define the routes, fares, vehicle allocation and timetables. There were 2 107 of these operating 287 routes and carrying 970 115 passengers a day in 1997.

Red minibuses operate without specified schedules. They are not required to operate on fixed routes or timetables and are free to set fares. In 1997, 2 243 red minibuses carried 805 489 passengers daily.

In mid-1997, the Transport Advisory Committee completed a review on PLB policy with particular regard to the role, regulation and control of green and red minibuses. In line with government policy to convert red minibuses to green, more new scheduled routes will be identified. During the year, a green minibus operators selection exercise was conducted and minibus operators were selected to operate a total of 10 routes.

Taxis

At the end of 1997, there were 15 161 urban taxis (coloured red), 2 707 New Territories taxis (green) and 50 Lantau taxis (blue), carrying a daily average of 1.1 million, 199 000 and 1 252 passengers respectively.

To meet the increase in demand for Lantau taxi services upon opening of the Lantau Link and population intake in Tung Chung New Town, 10 new Lantau taxi licences were issued in 1997.

In March 1997, the Transport Advisory Committee re-convened its Working Group on Taxi Policy Review to review the taxi licensing system with the objective of improving the quality of taxi services. During the year, the law was amended to require all taxi drivers to issue fare receipts to passengers on demand by June 1998.

Non-franchised Buses

Residents' bus services were introduced in 1982 to give commuters an additional choice of transport modes. Residents' organisations may invite non-franchised operators to operate such services under passenger service licences issued by the Transport Department. These services operate in accordance with approved routing, timetable and stopping places; and are introduced mainly to and from housing estates primarily during peak hours, supplementing services provided by the franchised bus operators. At the end of 1997, the 227 residents' bus services made an average of 111 000 passenger journeys per day. During the year, 50 new services were introduced.

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