Ref. No.: HAD K&T DC/13/9/23A/17/Pt.1

Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee (2017) of Council

Date: 13 April 2017 Time: 2:34 p.m. – 4:23 p.m. Venue: Kwai Tsing District Office Conference Room

Attendee Time of Arrival (p.m.) Time of Departure (p.m.) Mr TSUI Hiu-kit (Chairman) Start of meeting End of meeting Miss KWOK Fu-yung Start of meeting End of meeting (Vice-chairman) Mr CHAN Siu-man, Simon Start of meeting 3:41 Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman Start of meeting End of meeting Mr CHOW Yick-hay, BBS, JP Start of meeting End of meeting Miss CHU Lai-ling Start of meeting End of meeting Mr HUI Kei-cheung 3:03 End of meeting Mr LAM Siu-fai Start of meeting 3:42 Ms LAU Mei-lo 2:36 3:44 Mr LEE Chi-keung, Alan, MH Start of meeting End of meeting Mr LEUNG Chi-shing 3:07 End of meeting Mr LEUNG Kam-wai 2:42 End of meeting Mr LEUNG Tsz-wing, Dennis 4:16 End of meeting Mr LEUNG Wai-man, MH Start of meeting 3:36 Mr LI Sai-lung Start of meeting 3:27 Miss LO Yuen-ting Start of meeting End of meeting Ms MAK Mei-kuen, Alice, BBS, JP Start of meeting 3:09 Mr NG Ka-chiu 2:36 End of meeting Mr NG Kim-sing 2:46 End of meeting Mr PAU Ming-hong Start of meeting End of meeting Ms TAM Wai-chun, MH Start of meeting End of meeting Mr TANG Shui-wah 2:46 End of meeting Mr WONG Bing-kuen 3:00 4:17 Mr WONG Yiu-chung, MH 2:36 End of meeting Mr CHAN Dik-sau Start of meeting End of meeting Mr CHAN Man-luen-ying Start of meeting End of meeting Mr Elson CHOW Start of meeting End of meeting 1

Mr LEUNG Kong-ming Start of meeting 3:44 Mr LI Man-ka 2:42 Start of meeting Mr YIP Pui-lam Start of meeting Start of meeting

In Attendance Mr WU Tin-yau, Gordon Assistant District Officer (Kwai Tsing), Kwai Tsing District Office Mr CHAN Chi-ming Senior Engineer (Special Duties), Transport Department Ms LO Shuet-yee Engineer (Special Duties)2, Transport Department Mr TANG Kam-kee Senior Engineer (Covered Walkway)1, Mr.TANG Yiu-key Project Coordinator (Covered Walkway)1-1, Highways Department Mr. LEUNG Hon-wan Senior Engineer 5 (Tuen Mun Road), Highways Department Mr CHAN Chun-kit Engineer (Structure)2-1, Highways Department Mr TSANG Yiu-tim Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team, Kwai Tsing Police District, Police Force Mr LEE Kit-fung, Peter Engineer (NTW), Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr TANG Siu-chung District Engineer/KT, Highways Department Ms PUN Fun-yu District Engineer/SW(W), Highways Department Mr FUNG Ka-kit Engineer(), Transport Department Mr TAM Lai-ming Senior Transport Officer(Kwai Tsing), Transport Department Mr SO Man-wah Assistant Manager (Operations), The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd. Ms WONG Yee-ling, Assistant Manager (Operations), Debbie The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd. Miss CHAN Hau-sin, Executive Officer (District Council)1, Priscilla (Secretary) Kwai Tsing District Office

Absent Ms CHEUNG Wai-ching, Clarice (With prior notice) Ms LAM Chui-ling, Nancy, MH (With prior notice) Mr POON Chi-shing, MH (With prior notice) Mr WONG Yun-tat (With prior notice) Mr HO Wai-pan (With prior notice) Mr LAI King-wai (With prior notice) Mr LAU Wing-fai (With prior notice) Mr LAW King-shing, MH (Without prior notice) Mr LEUNG Kwok-wah (Without prior notice) Mr LEUNG Wing-kuen (Without prior notice) 2

Action

Welcoming Remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members, representatives of government departments and organisations to the meeting.

2. The Committee unanimously endorsed the applications of absence by Ms CHEUNG Wai-ching, Clarice, Ms LAM Chui-ling, Nancy, Mr POON Chi-shing, Mr WONG Yun-tat, Mr HO Wai-pan, Mr LAI King-wai and Mr LAU Wing-fai.

3. Mr POON Chi-shing had authorized Miss LO Yuen-ting, and Mr LAU Wing-fai had authorised Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman as their representative to vote for all matters during the meeting.

Confirmation of Minutes of the 1st Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee (2017)

4. Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman moved the confirmation of the above minutes, which was seconded by Ms TAM Wai-chun. The above minutes were unanimously confirmed by the Committee.

Introduction of/Consultation Paper

Provision of Covers to Walkways (Proposed by Transport Department and Highways Department) (TTC Paper No. 9/D/2017)

5. Mr. CHAN Chi-ming and Ms LO Shuet-yee introduced the above paper.

6. Mr LAM Siu-fai suggested that if the recommended plans had a construction cost lower than budget, constructing a roof cover for an additional walkway could be considered.

7. Mr CHAN Chi-ming responded that the Policy Address only required walkways should not be longer than 500 metres, and did not set a minimum requirement on their lengths. The Policy Address also did not set any restriction on the construction cost of walkway covers, but funding applications for projects with construction costs lower than $30 million would require less time because they could be submitted as Category D projects of minor works for funding; whilst those exceeding $30 million would need to be upgraded from Category C projects to Category A projects, before it could be

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Action submitted to the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council. The project could only commence after approval had been granted by FC and would thus require a longer time.

8. The Chairman said that the Secretariat would invite all DC Members to choose 3 projects with priority from proposals 1-8 after the meeting, and relevant results would be passed on to the Transport Department (TD) and the Highways Department (HyD) for follow-up.

[Post-meeting note: On 25 April 2017, the Secretariat sent voting forms to all DC Members inviting them to select three projects with priority. The voting ended at 5 p.m. on 5 May 2017. A total of 29 Members returned voting forms before deadline. The three projects with the most votes were: no. 7 “Cheung Wang Bus Terminus, Tsing Yi to Cheung Hang Bus Terminus, Tsing Yi” (total 136 points), no. 8 “Cheung Hang Bus Terminus, Tsing Yi to the Passageway at the Crossing Between Tsing Yi Road West and Liu To Road”(total 110 points), and no. 2 “Entrance to the Car Park of Ching Wai House, Cheung Ching Estate , Ching Hong Road, Tsing Yi to Cheung Ching Bus Terminal” (total 94 points). On 11 May 2017, the Secretariat informed TD, HyD, all DC Members and the co-opted members of the Traffic and Transport Committee in written of the voting results.]

Discussion Items

Enhancing the Safety for (Proposed by Mr CHOW Yick-hay, BBS, JP) (TTC Papers Nos. 10,10a/D/2017)

9. Mr CHOW Yick-hay briefly introduced Paper No. 10/D/2017.

10. Mr FUNG Ka-kit replied that there had been 10 suicide cases and 1 case of jumping off the Stonecutters Bridge ever since its commission. The managing company of Tsing Sha Highway had enhanced patrol and closely monitored bridge conditions through closed circuit television, and would assign staff for follow up and informed the police in case of any attempted suicide.

11. Mr CHAN Chun-kit replied that the Stonecutters Bridge underwent detailed design and wind tunnel tests to reduce its wind load while enhancing its stability. In addition, its parapets had been designed following HyD and international standards, so that in case of impact by vehicles, they could effectively control vehicles involved,

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Action reduce vehicle damage, passengers casualties, and prevent vehicles from falling off the bridge. Since the addition of parapets would affect its design and might affect the safety of road users when vehicles impacted the parapets, it was therefore not suitable to add parapets casually. Similar suicide cases at had been handled effectively by using administrative measures and daily management, so relevant issues at the Stonecutters Bridge would be handled with similar measures at the moment.

12. Mr CHOW Yick-hay said that the problem was serious, and the departments concerned should be more proactive and consider altering the structure to close gaps or installing additional signs to appeal to those who wanted to commit suicide to cherish their lives.

13. Mr FUNG Ka-kit said that TD did not have any signs with the message about cherishing one’s life at the moment.

14. Mr CHAN Chun-kit replied that trying to close gaps of the bridge by altering parapets on the bridge would increase its windage area and wind load so its wind stability would be affected. It would not be suitable to consider altering structure of the parapets at the moment.

Motion: “Kwai Tsing District Council Traffic and Transport Committee requests the Transport Department to widen the slip road from Road to Texaco Road Roundabout and to add one traffic lane to Tsing Yi North Bridge to improve traffic congestion in Tsuen Wan Road and Texaco Road Roundabout” (Proposed by Mr LEE Chi-keung, Alan, MH and Ms TAM Wai-chun, MH) (Seconded by Mr WONG Yiu-chung, MH) (TTC Paper No.11,11a,11b/D/2017)

15. Mr LEE Chi-keung, Alan briefly introduced Paper No. 11/D/2017.

16. The above-mentioned motion was endorsed unanimously.

Reviewing and Improving the Service Level and Fare of Green Minibus Services in Kwai Tsing District (Proposed by Mr WONG Bing-kuen) (TTC Papers Nos. 12,12a/D/2017)

17. Mr WONG Bing-kuen briefly introduced Paper No. 12/D/2017.

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Action

18. Mr LEUNG Kong-ming said that the hygiene of minibuses that served Estate and the attitude of drivers were not ideal. He enquired whether TD had assigned any staff to carry out anonymous site observation to monitor minibus operations.

19. Mr NG Ka-chiu enquired TD as follows:

(i) How to handle drivers of Minibus Route No. 410 for altering the route on their own; and

(ii) Residents had to tolerate the substandard minibus services for the time being, but refusing to renew the licence for relevant minibus operator would affect daily minibus services, so how would TD make a balance between these two factors’ effect on passengers.

20. Mr WONG Yiu-chung criticised minibus operators for constantly increasing minibus fares, but service level was not ideal and the number of serving minibus was insufficient which always made passengers difficult to get on board. He urged TD to conduct a comprehensive review on minibus services.

21. Mr LEE Chi-keung, Alan said that the shortage in minibus drivers and constant fare increase showed that TD had failed to monitor minibus operation effectively. He urged TD to set up a mechanism that could enhance the regulations of minibus services.

22. Mr HUI Kei-cheung said that the fare of Minibus Route No. 89 was higher than other minibus routes with similar distance; and stated that TD did not take the opinions against fare increase seriously. He urged TD to strengthen its monitoring on fare increase applications, so as to ensure that routes travelling similar distances charged similar fares, and proposed to introduce more sectional fares services.

23. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai opined as follows:

(i) The percentage of fare increase for Minibus Route No. 89 was relatively high, and many strongly objected to it. He enquired detailed information from TD’s previous consultation on minibus fare increases, and the effect of opinions collected from the consultation on the assessment process; and

(ii) He criticised TD for a lack of monitoring on the fare increase and quality of services of Minibus Route No. 89.

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Action

24. Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman said that even though many minibus operators had a chaotic management style and substandard services, they still were able to increase minibus fares continuously despite opposition from the community and DC Members. He suggested TD to implement a demerit-point system to monitor minibuses operations.

25. Mr CHAN Siu-man, Simon enquired whether there was a limit on the ratio between the number of Green Minibuses (GMB) and Red Minibuses (RMB).

26. Mr LAM Siu-fai said that when a certain minibus route terminated services, re-tendering would be required and resulted in fare increases. He criticised the existing mechanism had failed to monitor the operation of minibuses effectively.

27. The Chairman enquired whether the assessment criteria for minibus fare increase were consistent throughout the entire Hong Kong. He also said that TD should suspend approving fare increases of minibus services, as the passenger capacity of all minibuses would soon be increased to 19.

28. Mr TAM Lai-ming gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) TD would thoroughly consider and balance between different aspects when processing the application of fare adjustment of all major public transport services (including minibus services), so that the affordability of citizen, the financial condition of operators and the continuity of providing efficient and suitable services were all taken care of;

(ii) The suggestion to suspend fare increase approval due to the future increase of minibus capacity to 19 seats would be passed on to relevant colleagues after the meeting;

(iii) TD had appointed staff to carry out on site and on board investigations on minibus services, and would instruct relevant operators to improve services if they were found to be not ideal;

(iv) TD had conducted regular assessments on minibus services to decide whether to renew their licences;

(v) As it would take time to sort out the number of complaints about minibus Transport Department services, TD would compile and provide the information later;

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(vi) The maximum number of RMBs and GMBs in total was subject to laws and regulations at present, and TD had always encouraged the conversion of RMBs into GMBs;

(vii) Detailed information about fare increase applications from minibus operators and the evaluation on minibus services could not be disclosed, as they involved commercial information; and

(viii) TD would follow up on the substandard services of certain routes after the meeting.

29. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai enquired about the results of fare increase consultation of minibus services.

30. Mr HUI Kei-cheung said that TD only considered the Minibus Scale of Fares (Scale) when assessing a fare increase application for minibuses, but failed to consider whether an operator had provided quality services and the acceptance of citizens.

31. Mr WONG Bing-kuen opined as follows:

(i) He enquired whether the operators had the flexibility to deploy vehicles among different routes;

(ii) The current frequency of minibus services was not adequate; and

(iii) He urged TD to supplement information about service terms, service quality and fares concerning relevant operators after meeting, and provide lost trips report on minibuses.

32. Mr LEE Chi-keung, Alan opined as follows:

(i) TD should pay attention to the quality of services provided by relevant operators, rather than their financial conditions;

(ii) He urged the government to consider opening up the currently monopolised minibus market;

(iii) More minibus services should offer sectional fares; and

(iv) He was concerned that the issue of lost trips would deteriorate after the passenger capacity was increased to 19. 8

Action

33. Mr WONG Yiu-chung opined as follows:

(i) He urged TD to submit the latest Scale after the meeting;

(ii) He enquired whether operators had undertaken not to increase fares within two years after the increase of capacity;

(iii) He urged TD to conduct a comprehensive review on the existing policies of minibus services; and

(iv) He asked TD to follow up on the issue of Minibus Route No. 91A only providing morning and afternoon services.

34. Mr CHAN Man-luen-ying said that Minibus Route No. 87K was often fully loaded, urging TD to increase its service frequency.

35. Mr TAM Lai-ming gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) Operators were allowed to flexibly deployed vehicles under the same Passenger Service Licence (PSL), according to varying passengers’ demand at different service periods.

(ii) The PSL was valid for a maximum of five years. TD would periodically evaluate the performance of operators in providing minibus services. In the event of serious or repetitive violation of PSL terms or continuous failures in improving services, TD would make inquiries in accordance with the Road Traffic Ordinance, and consider temporarily revoking, cancelling or alternating the operators’ PSL upon completion of inquiries.

(iii) The maximum fare allowed for minibus routes under 3 kilometres was $5.30.

(iv) As the consultation results might involve individual opinions, TD would need to explore the suggestion with the District Office after the meeting.

(v) TD would follow up after meeting on the problem of Minibus Route No. 87K fully loaded, and it had always encouraged operators to make flexible deployments of their vehicles based on passenger needs at different periods. 9

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(vi) TD would supplement after meeting about the progress of increasing passenger capacity.

[Post-meeting remarks: After the meeting, the Secretariat had issued TTC (Circulation) Paper No. 11/2017 to inform Members of the supplementary information provided by TD.]

(vii) Should a GMB operator decide to cease operation of certain routes, TD would consider inviting applications from other operators for operating the route, and would select a suitable operator in accordance with existing criteria.

36. Mr HUI Kei-cheung urged TD to submit regular lost trips report of minibuses at TTC meetings and established an estimated time of arrival service (ETA) for minibuses.

37. Mr TAM Lai-ming responded that there were many minibus operators and the majority of them were small companies, there would be a lack of resources to start regularly reporting on minibus lost trips or introducing ETA for minibuses. TD had assigned colleagues to conduct site observation about lost trips based on resources available, in the event of operators did not provide service in accordance with requirements, TD would follow up and instruct the operators to improve.

38. Mr WONG Bing-kuen suggested that the TD should start submitting lost trips report of minibuses and an annual minibus route programme from next year onwards.

39. Mr HUI Kei-cheung suggested that in order to enhance monitoring, TD should submit regular lost trips report of minibuses in the long run.

40. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai said that TD would only need to provide the numbers of “for” and “against” collected during its consultation, and he suggested that TD should submit information from its sample investigations on minibuses to the Committee on a regular basis.

41. Mr TAM Lai-ming responded that Members’ opinions had been duly noted.

42. Mr LEUNG Kam-wai enquired whether TD would be able to submit a lost trips report of minibuses at the next meeting.

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Action

43. The Chairman said that the TD probably would not be able to provide relevant information on a regular basis for the time being, but he urged TD to study in detail how to submit regular minibus lost trips report to the Committee in the long run after the meeting.

44. Mr TAM Lai-ming responded that in order to use resources efficiently, TD would not be able to provide round the clock on-site monitoring on all minibus routes in the district, so lost trips information could not be provided.

45. Mr NG Kim-sing suggested that TD should submit lost trips information for some of the routes at each meeting.

46. The Chairman suggested that information about lost trips could be provided at the same time when consulting about fare increases of minibus services.

Report Items

Working Group Reports

(a) Road Safety Working Group (TTC Paper No. 13/R/2017)

47. Members endorsed the above paper unanimously.

(b) Public Transport Services Working Group (TTC Paper No. 14/R/2017)

48. Members endorsed the above paper unanimously.

Report Items

Kwai Tsing District Traffic Accident Report (TTC Paper No. 15/I/2017)

49. Members noted the above paper.

Projects and Timetables of Major Traffic Improvement Works Completed in the Past Two Months, In Progress or to be Commenced in Six Months by the Highways Department (TTC Paper No. 16/I/2017)

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50. Members noted the above paper.

Lost Trip Report of Buses in Kwai Tsing District (January to February 2017) (TTC Paper No. 17/I/2017)

51. Mr WONG Yiu-chung said that Route No. 265M often skipped the stop at Kwai Chung Public School because it used the fast lane, and urged TD and KMB to follow up the issue.

52. Miss LO Yuen-ting said that estimated arrival time of the ETA was different from the actual time of arrival, and urged KMB to follow up.

53. Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman said that current data failed to reflect the fact that passengers who took Route No. 37M were unable to get on board because the vehicles were fully loaded, and urged TD to provide information to assist members in better understanding the situation of fully loaded vehicles.

54. Mr LEE Chi-keung, Alan said that the issue of lost trips of bus services had not improved at all, and urged TD to enhance its lost trips monitoring on KMB.

55. Mr LAM Siu-fai said that the service frequency of Route No. 35A during the time slots after dinner banquet was insufficient; making it extremely difficult to get on board for Kwai Chung bound services after the bus passed by Mong Kok, and urged KMB to improve the situation.

56. Mr TAM Lai-ming responded as follows:

(i) TD would instruct KMB to tackle skipping stop problem upon receipt of complaints;

(ii) TD would follow up with KMB on the discrepancy between the estimated and actual times of arrival in ETA;

(iii) TD would arrange site observation at Cheung Sha Wan to monitor the boarding situation of Route No. 37, and would follow up on the results with KMB;

(iv) The stability of bus services would be affected by factors which bus companies had responsibility, such as insufficient drivers, insufficient vehicles, vehicle mechanics malfunction, etc., and also external factors 12

Action

such as occupation of roads by public activities, traffic congestions, traffic accident or bad weather, etc. TD had closely monitored and followed up with service delay and lost trips problem. TD had also urged bus companies from time to time to improve the stability of bus services actively.

(v) TD would organise site observation on Route No. 35A to understand its occupancy rate and follow up on relevant issues afterwards. Currently KMB would arrange special services that departed from en route stops to relieve passengers’ demand when necessary and when resources were available.

57. Ms Wong Yee-ling, Debbie responded as follows:

(i) KMB would instruct its drivers to pay extra attention to passengers waving their hands for boarding at en route stops;

(ii) KMB had been updating the software of ETA to ensure information provided would be more accurate, but in case of of traffic congestion, the estimated times of arrival could be further delayed;

(iii) KMB would review passengers’ demand for No. Route 37 and follow up if necessary; and

(iv) KMB and its front-line staff would make flexible deployments of vehicles based on road conditions.

58. Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman enquired the progress of extending the bus-bus interchange scheme.

59. Ms Wong Yee-ling, Debbie said that relevant information would be provided after the meeting.

[Post-meeting note: KMB stated that the government would grant a new ten year franchise with effect from 1 July 2017. KMB would increase fare concessions, including expand its bus-bus interchange concession schemes within its network, align the fares for short-haul trips on cross-district routes and district-wide shuttle bus routes, roll out long-haul route fare concession scheme for full-time students, and partner with the Hong Kong Tramways Limited to offer interchange fare concessions. The new fare concessions would benefit different districts, including residents in Kwai Tsing. 13

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KMB would consider providing different services and fare concessions according to market conditions from time to time in future, and provide more speedy bus service for passengers.

Any other business

60. Mr CHOW Wai-hung, Rayman said that there was an extreme shortage in parking space at Kwai Shing Circuit, with imminent completion of the public housing programme at the neighbouring of Tai Wo Hau, which would only add a dozen of parking space, he urged TD and the HyD to consider establishing more road-side temporary parking space.

61. Mr CHAN Man-luen-ying made the following suggestions:

(i) Relevant departments to consider extending the pedestrian light green signals at the crossing between Hing Fong Road and Wing Fong Road for a few seconds, to allowed sufficient time for elderlies to cross the road; and

(ii) Check when HyD Works No. NW/13/02143 would be completed, as the work was not in progress every day.

62. The Chairman suggested that TD should provide more detailed breakdown under its lost trip report of buses in Kwai Tsing District for those with a lost trip rate of “Below 5%”.

63. Mr FUNG Ka-kit said that HyD would need to discuss with the Lands Department about whether there were any vacant land suitable to be used for temporary parking spaces at the Kwai Shing Circuit, and TD would study the suggestion to extend the pedestrian light green signals after the meeting.

64. Mr TAM Lai-ming said that he would follow up on the suggestion to further categorise lost trip rates after the meeting.

65. Mr HUI Kei-cheung enquired whether the lost trip rate of Route 33A was close to 5% or far below 5%, and he urged TD to enhance its monitoring on lost trips of Route No. 33A.

66. The Chairman said that TD should provide the Committee with information about lost trip rates in greater details.

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Action

Date of Next Meeting

67. The next meeting was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on 15 June 2017.

Kwai Tsing District Council Secretariat May 2017

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