ENG-2017 — Page 273

14.

Transport

Public Light Buses

The number of public light buses (PLBs) has been capped at 4,350 since 1976. The legislative amendment to increase maximum passenger seating capacity took effect on 7 July 2017 to allow PLBs to carry up to 19 passengers. PLBs provide about 1.82 million passenger trips per day.

There are two types of PLBS - green minibuses (GMBs) and red minibuses (RMBs). GMBs provide scheduled services with fixed routes, fares, vehicle allocation and timetables as stipulated by the Transport Department. At the year end, 3,281 GMBS were operating 351 routes, recording a daily average of 1,525,200 passenger trips. RMBs are not required to operate on fixed routes or timetables and may set their own fares but are subject to restrictions on their operating areas. There were 1,069 RMBS in operation at the year end, recording a daily average of 295,300 passenger trips.

Taxis

At the year end, there were 15,250 red urban taxis, 2,838 green New Territories taxis and 75 blue Lantau taxis, carrying about 897,200 passengers per day. There were about 760 taxi stands and designated taxi pick-up/drop-off points.

Private cars

At the year end, there were 552,710 licensed private cars, of which 43,642 were new vehicles registered during 2017.

Road Transport Management

Effective transport management is essential for the orderly and safe operation of the transport system. Modern technology is used in a variety of ways to enhance transport management.

Licensing

At the year end, there were 2,264,019 licensed drivers, 759,889 licensed private vehicles and 6,311 government vehicles. The licensed private vehicles comprised 53,317 motorcycles and motor tricycles, 552,710 private cars, 18,148 taxis, 12,967 public buses, 676 private buses, 4,338 PLBs, 3,070 private light buses, 70,782 light goods vehicles, 36,156 medium goods vehicles, 6,042 heavy goods vehicles and 1,683 special purpose vehicles. On average, 4,730 new learners' driving licences were issued per month.

Driving Improvement Scheme

The Road Traffic Ordinance and the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance require that offenders who have been convicted of serious traffic offences and traffic offenders who have accumulated 10 driving-offence points within two years shall attend a driving improvement course. In 2017, about 25,600 people attended the course, about 24,300 of whom were on a mandatory basis. About 93 per cent of participants who attended the course did not incur new driving-offence points within six months after completing the course.

Vehicle Examination

Vehicles are examined routinely to ensure they are safe, roadworthy and properly maintained. Commercial vehicles are checked annually at the four government vehicle examination centres.

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