(For discussion on 28 June 2012)
Progress Report of the Traffic and Transport Committee
The third meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) in 2012 was held on 24 May 2012. The major issues discussed are summarised below:
Public Rental Housing Development at Hung Shui Kiu Area 13 — Public Transportation Interchange and Road Works in nearby areas
2.Members were supportive of the above Public Transportation Interchange and Road Works in nearby areas and hoped that the departments concerned could expedite the works progress. Members reflected that with a sharp rise in the population of Hung Shui Kiu residents’demand for public transportation service had been increasing. They considered that the authorities should conduct a long-term and effective transport planning as soon as possible. Some members considered thattheauthorities should also submit the details of the transport links and other ancillary facilities on transportunder the Public Rental Housing (PRH) Development at Hung Shui Kiu Area 13 so as to facilitateMembers to conduct a more detailed discussion on the planning of the entire transport network. Members alsomade several proposals on the said works, including the provision of a pedestrian crossing at the junction of Hung Chi Road and Hung Yuen Road, provision of traffic lights at main access points, provision of shelters for all lays-by, provision of noise enclosures at Hung Tin Road, provision of lays-by for taxis at the periphery of PRH, and provision of parking spaces for private vehicles, motorcycles and trucks, etc. Some members praised the departments for their progressive consultation with the relevant DC members on the said works.
3.In response, the representative of the Housing Department (HD) said that HD had engaged a traffic consultancy to conduct a traffic impact assessment and constructed a public transport interchangeto support the demandunderthis PRH development project, and the relevant works had been confirmed by the Transport Department (TD); there were 115 parking spaces for private vehicles, 21 for motorcycles and 13 for trucks, and trucks could enter the PRH for loading and unloading of goods; it was believed that these ancillary facilities on transport were adequate to meet residents’ needs. HD was currently enhancing the railing design for the PRH, and would reserve room for the provision of an entrance/exit for residents’ convenient use.
4.The representative of TD responded that TD had preliminarily planned to arrange for KMB route nos. 68X and 63X to terminate at the proposed public transport interchange, and MTR feeder bus route K75 would run past the bus lay-by at Hung Tin Road. TD would closely monitor the population growth after the intake of the PRH and would re-align the relevant bus routes at suitable times.
Motion on “Urging the authorities to expedite the implementation of the public transport fare concession scheme whereby a concessionary fare of $2 a trip will be offered to the elderly and people with disabilities”
5.Members expected thatthe relevant bus companies and ferry operators would advance the completion of the preparatory work for the implementation of the public transport fare concession schemefor the elderly and eligible people with disabilities (the concessionary scheme). They urged the relevant bureau to expedite the implementation of the concessionary scheme and actively explore the feasibility of including minibuses in the scheme. Members noted with regret thatthe Labour and Welfare Bureau had assigned no representative to attend this meeting, and requested the bureau to assignsuitablerepresentatives to attend the meeting and to listen to Members’ views.
6.After discussion, Members carried the following motion with an absolute majority of votes:
“This Committee urges the authorities to expedite the implementation of the public transport fare concession scheme whereby a concessionary fare of $2 a trip will be offered to the elderly and people with disabilities.”
(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat wrote to the Labour and Welfare Bureau to relay Members’ views and requeston 6 June 2012, and the Labour and Welfare Bureau gave a written reply to the said motion on 20 June 2012.)
Motion on “Strong objection to MTRC’s 5.4% fare increase in June and request for a fare freeze”
Motion on “Strongly objection to MTRC’s fare increase and urge for MTRC to: (1) change all concessions into permanent concessions; (2) provide monthly pass and weekly pass applicable to short trips covering “Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun”; (3) provide day pass applicable to “Tuen Mun-Hung Hom”
Motion on “Strong objection to MTRC’s significant fare increase”
Proposal to discuss the matters relating to objection against MTRC’s fare increase and review of the Fare Adjustment Mechanism
7.Members objected to MTRC’s introduction of a fare increase under the Fare Adjustment Mechanism (FAM) even with a huge profit, which had furtheraggravated the inflation and imposed a higher financial burden on the public. Thus, they stronglyrequested MTRC to immediatelyshelve its fare increase plan and to offer more ticket types and fare concessions to passengers. Members also urged the authorities to make an overall review of FAM as soon as possible.
8.The representative of MTRC responded that FAM had been adopted since the rail merger in 2007, which was a mutually agreed contractbetween both parties. According to the formula under FAM, the fare adjustment rate was set at 5.4% in the overall MTR fares for 2012. MTRC was currently planning for a fresh round of fare promotions and would release the details of the promotions as early as end-May after soliciting views from all sectors of the community. MTRC would alsoimplement the new “Listening·Responding” programme, under which various station upgrading measures would be implemented, including the installation of platform seats at stations andprovision of toilet facilities at interchange stations, etc.
9.After discussion, Members carried the following motion with an absolute majority of votes:
“This Committee strongly objects to a 5.4% fare increase by MTRCsince June 2012, requests for a fare freeze and urges MTRC to:
(1)change all concessions into permanent concessions;
(2)provide monthly pass and weekly pass applicable to short trips covering “Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun”;
(3)provide day pass applicable to “Tuen Mun-Hung Hom”;
(4)reintroduce “Ride 10 Get 1 Free” Concession;
(5)Expedite the completion of the station upgrading programme, including the installation of automatic platform gates and provision of toilet facilities for all MTR lines.
Besides, we consider that the government should:
(1)expedite the review of the MTR Fare Adjustment Mechanism, provide an incident point deduction mechanism and make it link with the fare adjustment rate;
(2)actively explore the feasibility of paying back the public with the cash dividends received from MTRC annually with a view to lowering the fares and relieving the burden on the public brought about by travelling expenses;
(3)request MTRC to set up a fare stabilisation fund.”
(Post-meeting note:The Secretariat wrote to MTRC and the Transport and Housing Bureauto relay Members’ requeston 6 June 2012, and MTRC and the Transport and Housing Bureaugave written replies to the said motion on 12 June 2012 and 21 June 2012 respectively.)
Request for strengthening the frequency of the West Rail Line trains and increasing the number of train compartments
10.Members reflected that theinadequate frequency of the West Rail Line (WRL) trains during the rush hour, coupled with the operation of 7-car trains on the line, led to overcrowding of train compartments and made it difficult for passengers to get on board the train. Members hoped that MTRC could show understanding for the hardship of passengers who took a long commute to urban areas every day by strengthening the frequency of WRL trains and increasing the number of cars to 9. Members considered that,other than the average patronage, MTRC should also take the actualpatronage during the peak of the rush hour into consideration and adopt concrete measures to meet passengers’ needs as soon as possible. Some members did not agree with MTRC’s saying that the length of WRL platforms could not meet the requirement of increasing thenumber of cars, and enquired about MTRC’s criteria for increasing the frequency of trains and number of cars.
11.The representative of MTRC responded that 7-car trains were currently operated on WRL with 3 minute a trip during the morning rush hour on weekdays. She pointed out that although WRL platforms could accommodate 9-car trains by design, as increasing the number of cars would involve complicated technical problems, at present MTRC would only enhance the capacity of WRL through increasing the frequency of trains. MTRC would continue to closely monitor the community development along WRL and the capacity of WRL, and, if needed, would consider increasing the frequency of trains to meet patronage needs.
Enquiry about MTRC’s contingency plan for emergency situations
12.Members raised concerns over the interruption of WRL service caused by the incident on 3 May 2012. Members referred to the chaos arising from the evacuation of passengers from the stations and train compartments, and enquired about MTRC’s contingency plan for emergency situations. Members also relayed the inadequate feeder bus services provided by MTRC after the incident, and proposed thatmore announcementsbe provided inside the stations. Some members pointed out that the successive MTR incidentsin recent years had caused interruption of MTR service and inconvenience to passengers from time to time. They urged MTRC to pay due regard to the seriousness of the problem, make efforts to take improvement measures and strengthen the inspection of railway and electricity systems so as to protect the safety of passengers and prevent the reoccurrence of similar incidents. Some members proposed that the authorities should consider providing penalties for the occurrence of MTR incidents.
13.The representative of MTRC responded that at the time when a Hung Hom-bound train on WRL reached Mei Foo Station on the morning of 3 May 2012, a crack filling fell off from the overhead tunnel onto the cable, which activated the protection device and caused a short circuit. After assessing the situation, the Operations Control Centre had arranged for passengers on board to depart from the train compartment and walk to the nearest station for evacuation. The train captain had instructed passengers to depart from the train compartment through announcements and there was signage in place to help passengers evacuate. After the said incident, MTRC had immediately arranged for feeder buses and informed the relevant operators to provide emergency service and pick up the affected passengers. MTRC also had provided relevant information and instructions about the locations of the feeder buses through the announcement panels in the stations. MTRC had also deployed the staff of the Customer Service Rapid Response Unit to provide assistance to passengers. MTRC would review the contingency measures after the incident and strengthenits capacity to respond. Passengers could also obtain information about the contingency plans through MTRC homepage.
Request for realignment of Green Minibus Route no.77A to enhance the efficiency of service
14.Members relayed the circuitous routing and long journey of GMB route no. 77A, and proposed that the department concerned should realign its routing for the enhancement of this route’s performance. Some members pointed out that thenumber of runs of GMB route no. 77A was on the low side, and requested for strengthening its frequency to increase the patronage. Members pointed out that passengers living in Tin Shui Wai South needed to take this route to go to Pok Oi Hospital and thus they objected to the realignment proposalto bypass Tin Tsz Estate and Tin Yiu Estate as raised by the department. They also pointed out thatwith a great demand of passengers GMB route no. 77 might not be able to meet the passenger growth of GMB route no. 77A after the realignment. Some members proposed to realign the route by making it run past Yuen Long town. Many members objected to the said realignment proposal and urged the department to carefully handle the matters relating to the said realignment and actively consult the relevant DC members so as to minimise the impact of the realignment upon existing passengers.
15.The representative of TD responded that the operation of GMB route no. 77A was undesirablewith its circuitous routing and low patronage and it was unjustifiable to require the operatorto allocate more resources to increase the runs of a routeoperating on deficit. Thus, TD considered maintaining the regularity of trips and diverting passengers through realignmentof the route. After the realignment of GMB route no. 77A, passengers could interchange to GMB route no. 77 free of charge at Long Ping Estate or Sun Yuen Long Centre. TD had consulted all sectors of the community on the realignment of GMB route 77A and consulted Members by way of circulation earlier on. TD wouldalso make reference to Members’ views raised at this meeting and carefully handle the matters relating to the said realignment.
Request for an overall replacement of green minibus compartments on route nos. 34 and 35 departing from Tai Fung Street, Yuen Long and travelling to Lau Fau Shan and Tsim Bei Tsui respectively
16.Members reflected thatthe dilapidatedGMB compartments running on GMB route nos. 34 and 35 had attracted criticism for years, however no improvement was made and the safety of passengers was greatly threatened, and that a GMB running on route 34 steered out of control and crashed into the roadside bushes while driving near Tsim Bei Tsui Roundabouton 27 December 2011. Members considered that the department had the responsibility to monitor the operation of GMBs and urged the department to require the GMB operator to immediatelyreplace the GMB compartments running on the said route.
17.The representative of TD responded that at present every public light bus running on the road was required to undergo an annual vehicle examination to ensure the suitability of the PLB to provide service with its performance, and all GMBs running on route nos. 34 and 35 had passed the examination. TD had urged the operator to replace the GMB compartments running on route nos. 34 and 35 in the light of the age of the GMB compartments, but given the poor operating condition of the said routes it was difficult for the operator to allocate resources for the replacement of the GMB compartments. TD had reminded the operator to ensure the road safety and good performance of GMBs and to maintain clean GMB compartments. TD was willing to arrange for the relevant DC members to meet with the operator for discussing matters such as operation of the routes and replacement of GMB compartments.
(Post-meeting note: TD said that they had arranged for the relevant DC members to meet and exchange viewswith the operator on 20 June 2012.)
Request for strengthening the frequency of Green Minibus Route no. 618 during noon period
18.Members reflected thatthe service of GMBroute no. 618was far from satisfactoryduring noon period as the GMBs would not stop at en route stops from time to time due to their being packed to capacity and it was difficult for passengers to get on boardon weekends and during holidays in particular. They urged TD to require the operator to improve the service by increasing the number of runs, and hoped that TD would consider allowing other routes to service Shenzhen Portso as to relieve the patronage load of GMB route no. 618 and to meet the traffic demand of residents.
19.The representative of TD responded that at present TD had no plan to allow other routes to service Shenzhen Port, but TD had reminded the operator to closely monitor the operation of GMB route no. 618 and strengthen the service of the route by redeploying the necessary resources or arranging for vacant GMBs to pick up those who could not get on board at en route stops.
Request for early provision of shelter for the bus stop at Tin Shui Road adjacent to TinShuiWaiPark
20.Members hoped that TD would strengthen supervision of the works and urge the Kowloon Motor Bus Company to commence the construction of shelter for the bus stop at Tin Shui Road adjacent to TinShuiWaiPark as soon as possible and to expedite the progress of the works for early improvement of passengers’ waiting environment. Some members proposed that all of the newly constructed bus stops be provided with shelters.
21.The representative of TD responded that the construction of shelters for bus stopswas to be considered by the bus company in the light of its allocation of resources and the actualconditions of individual routes. TD would remind the bus company to expedite the implementation of the said works to meet passengers’ needs.