ENG-2003 — Page 310

TRANSPORT

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Meritorious Taxi Drivers were commended on their good conduct and provision of quality taxi service. To further enhance the provision of useful information to taxi drivers and passengers, two new taxi passenger and fare information LED (light emitting diode) display panels, in addition to the existing five LED panels at various taxi stands, were erected at the taxi stands outside the KCR Hung Hom Station. Three taxi passenger and fare information plates were also installed at taxi stands in Pak Tam Chung and Sai Kung Town Centre. In addition, the department has published 11 issues of Taxi Newsletters and distributed 40 000 copies per issue to taxi drivers free of charge. Also, leaflets were distributed to tourists/taxi passengers to provide useful information on taxi services. A total of 150 000 and 20 000 leaflets were distributed at the airport and the Lok Ma Chau Control Point, respectively.

Ferries

Ferries provide essential transport links to outlying islands where no land transport alternatives are available, and an alternative service within the inner harbour and to other areas in Hong Kong.

At year-end, one ferry operator provided two cross-harbour franchised passenger ferry services and 11 ferry operators provided 28 licensed passenger ferry services to the outlying islands and across the harbour. These franchised/licensed services were supplemented by about 78 kaito services which provide services to relatively remote parts of Hong Kong.

In 2003, ferries recorded a daily average of about 89 000 passenger trips across the harbour and about 58 000 passenger trips to/from the outlying islands.

Transport Management

Effective transport management is essential for the orderly and safe operation of the transport system. The Government's regulatory powers are provided under the Road Traffic Ordinance. Every effort is made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of transport management through the use of modern technology in the various areas elaborated below.

Licensing

By the end of 2003, Hong Kong had 1 659 249 licensed drivers and 524 253 licensed vehicles and government vehicles. There were 338 930 licensed private cars, and 22 821 new private cars were registered during the year. Registered goods vehicles totalled 121 587, of which 75 987 were light goods vehicles. The average number of new learner-drivers was 4 369 per month. Since the introduction of the Driving-offence Points System in August 1984, 68 734 disqualifications have been ordered by the courts and 648 838 notices served under the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance. The figures for 2003 were 2 992 and 35 545, respectively. Over the past five years, 426 402 drivers have incurred Driving-offence Points for committing scheduled offences under the Driving-offence Points System.

Driver Improvement Scheme

The Government launched the Driver Improvement Scheme in September 2002 to promote road safety through the improvement of the participants' driving attitude/behaviour and reminding them of the requirement to comply with traffic regulations. Four driving improvement schools were designated to provide the driving