minutes of the 8th meeting of c&wdc traffic and … · web viewminutes of the 8th meeting of...

Minutes of the 8th Meeting ofTraffic and Transport Committee (2012-13)

Central and Western District Council

Date : 18 April 2013

Time : 2:30 pm

Venue : Conference Room 14/F., Harbour Building 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong

Present: Chair lady Ms CHENG Lai-king*

MembersMr CHAN Chit-kwai, BBS, JP (2:30 pm – 5:48 pm)Mr CHAN Choi-hi*Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph*Mr CHAN Hok-fung*Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan (2:43 pm – 5:55 pm)Mr CHEUNG Yick-hung, Jackie (2:30 pm – 4:30 pm)Mr IP Kwok-him, GBS, JP (2:30 pm – 4:18 pm)Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*Dr Malcolm LAM (2:30 pm – 5:16 pm)Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney (2:30 pm – 6:10 pm) Miss LO Yee-hang*Mr MAN Chi-wah, MH (3:41 pm – end of the meeting)Mr NG Siu-keung, Thomas, MH*Miss SIU Ka-yi*Mr WONG Kin-shing*Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP*

Co-opted MembersMr CHAN Chi-shing (3:09 pm – end of the meeting)Mr LI Po-ming (2:30 pm – 4:27 pm)Mr LI Wang-fung (2:35 pm – 6:30 pm)Mr LUI Hung-pan (2:30 pm – 6:25 pm)Ms WONG Mi-hing, Shirley (2:38 pm – end of the meeting)

document.doc 1

Remarks: * Members that attended the whole meeting( ) The time of attendance of the Member

GuestsItem 4Mr CHIU Cheuk-siu Senior Engineer 2/Central Wanchai Bypass,

Highways DepartmentMr YU Hing-wai Senior Resident Engineer, AECOM Asia

Company LimitedMr WONG Tsan-kwong Project Manager, Leighton Contractors (Asia)

Limited

Item 5Mr YAU Shing-mu, JP Under Secretary for Transport and

Housing, Transport and Housing BureauMiss LAM Yuk-ting, Gillian Assistant Secretary for Transport and Housing

(Transport), Transport and Housing Bureau

Mr LOO Khim-chung, Anthony

Mr Michael C. CLARK

Mr Billy WONG

Assistant Commissioner/Planning, Transport DepartmentPrincipal Consultant, Wilbur Smith Associates LimitedAssociate, Wilbur Smith Associates Limited

Item 6

Mr YAU Shing-mu, JP Under Secretary for Transport andHousing, Transport and Housing Bureau

Miss WONG Ming-wai, Winnie

Mr TAM Hon-choi

Mr CHAN Cheuk-ming

Mr Perran COAK

Mr Albert TSE

Mr Karl CHEUK

Principal Assistant Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport) 3, Transport and Housing BureauGovernment Engineer/Railway Development 2, Highways DepartmentChief Engineer/Railway Development 2-2,Highways DepartmentAssociate Director, AECOM Asia Company LimitedSenior Engineer, AECOM Asia Company LimitedAssociate Director, MVA Hong Kong Limited

document.doc 2

Item 7Miss PO Pui-man, Karen

Miss TSUI Shuk-ting, Yvonne

Mr WONG Wai-lam, William

Mr Simon WONG

Mr Brian NG

Ms Charlize LIU

Mr Philip WONGMr Vincent NGAI

Senior Transport Officer, Bus and Railway Branch, Transport DepartmentSenior Transport Officer/Central and Western, Transport DepartmentEnvironmental Protection Officer (Mobile Source), Environmental Protection DepartmentPlanning and Scheduling Manager, New World First Bus/CitybusSenior Planning Officer, New World First Bus/CitybusPublic Affairs Manager, New World First Bus/CitybusOperations Manager, CitybusOperations Manager, New World First Bus

Item 8Miss LEUNG Cheuk-lam, Shirley

Mr CHENG Wai-kin

Engineer/Central and Western 3, Transport DepartmentDistrict Operations Officer (Western), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr LAU Wing-fu Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team (Western District), Hong Kong Police Force

Item 9Mr David C K WONG

Mr Kelvin K K KOO

Operations Manager, Hong Kong Tramways LimitedSenior Maintenance Engineer, Hong Kong Tramways Limited

Item 10Mr LOK Chun-chung, Francis Engineer/Central and Western 1, Transport

Department

Item 11Ms YEUNG Lok-kei, Kiki

Mr CHENG Wai-kin

Mr LAU Wing-fu

Engineer/Special Duties, Transport DepartmentDistrict Operations Officer (Western), Hong Kong Police ForceOfficer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team (Western District), Hong Kong Police Force

document.doc 3

Item 12Miss TSUI Shuk-ting, Yvonne Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western,

Transport DepartmentItem 13Miss LEUNG Cheuk-lam, Shirley Engineer/Central and Western 3, Transport

DepartmentIn Attendance:

Miss CHOW Ho-kiu, Cheryl, JPMiss KEI Lai-ting, Grace

District Officer (Central and Western)Assistant District Officer (Central and Western)

Ms WONG Ming-wai Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Central and Western District Office

Ms YEUNG Lai-ching, Regent Senior Executive Officer (District Management),Central and Western District Office

Miss TSUI Shuk-ting, Yvonne

Mr LOK Chun-chung, Francis

Mr LAM Shu-kee, Philip

Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western, Transport DepartmentEngineer/Central and Western 1, Transport DepartmentEngineer/Central and Western 2, Transport Department

Miss LEUNG Cheuk-lam, Shirley

Ms YEUNG Lok-kei, Kiki

Engineer/Central and Western 3, Transport DepartmentEngineer/Special Duties, Transport Department

Mr WAI Hon-kwok Principal Technical Officer (Traffic)/Southern and Peak, Transport Department

Mr WONG Chun-hung

Mr LAM Wai-chuen, Eddie

Mr Paul EDMISTON

Senior District Engineer/HNW, Highways DepartmentSenior Engineer 7 (Hong Kong Island Division 1), Civil Engineering and Development DepartmentDistrict Operations Officer (Central District), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr CHAN Kwong-ming

Mr CHENG Wai-kin

Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team (Central District), Hong Kong Police ForceDistrict Operations Officer (Western), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr LAU Wing-fu Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team (Western District), Hong Kong Police Force

document.doc 4

SecretaryMiss CHUNG Yeuk-hung Executive Officer (District Council) 2, Central

and Western District Office

Absent with Apologies:

Mr HUI Chi-fungMr LEUNG King-yue, AlexMr CHAN Chi-ming, Lawrence

Vice-chairmanCo-opted MemberSenior Engineer/Central and Western, Transport Department

Welcome Remarks

The Chair lady welcomed Members and representatives from government departments to the 8th meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) (2012-13). She also welcomed Mr CHENG Wai-kin, District Operations Officer (Western) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), who succeeded Ms Melinda M Y FONG and Ms Kiki YEUNG, Engineer/Special Duties of the Transport Department (TD), who succeeded Mr LEE Hoo-tin, Stephen and attended the meeting for the first time.

Item 1: Adoption of the agenda

2. Members had no comment on the agenda and the agenda was adopted.

Item 2: Confirmation of the minutes of the 7 th TTC meeting on 31 January 2013

3. The Chair lady asked Members to take note of the amendments made to the minutes.

4. The Committee confirmed the minutes of the 7th meeting of the TTC.

Item 3: Chair lady ’s report

5. As regards the selected Minor Works Projects and their Schedules (as of February 2013), the Secretariat had distributed the report to Members for their perusal before the meeting. The Secretariat had not received any comments from Members.

Item 4: Standing item: Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern CorridorLink – Report on the progress of the Central Interchange project

(C&W TTC Paper No. 1/2013) (2:34 pm – 2:40 pm)

6. Mr CHIU Cheuk-siu , Senior Engineer 2/Central Wanchai Bypass of the Highways Department (HyD) reported on the works progress of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link - Central Interchange Project. He said that the works on the tunnels and

document.doc 5

the tunnel link roads went smoothly. In the next six months, excavation and structural works would continue. Moreover, the foundation works of a flyover at the portal would be carried out and the flyover at Man Po Street would be widened. He indicated that the Central Interchange Project went smoothly and was scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2016. The works of the remaining sections of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass project would continue. The Bypass was scheduled for commissioning in 2017. He indicated that temporary traffic diversion measures would be cancelled gradually upon completion of the project and the original traffic arrangements would resume. The relevant arrangements were still under discussion and the HyD would inform the Committee of the latest arrangements as soon as possible

7. The Chair lady asked the HyD if the project was on schedule and whether it was possible to open the Bypass to traffic in advance. The Chair lady invited Members to discuss the paper. Questions and views of Members were as follows:

(a) Mr KAM Nai-wai said that the traffic diversion arrangements at the Finance Street area were confusing and there were no clear instructions to direct drivers to the car park of the International Financial Centre.

(b) Mr CHAN Choi-hi enquired the HyD in which quarter of 2017 the Central-Wan Chai Bypass would be open to traffic.

8. Mr CHIU Cheuk-siu reiterated that the project was on schedule and the Central Interchange Project was anticipated to complete in the third quarter of 2016. The works of the remaining sections of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass project would continue and the Bypass would be open to traffic in the fourth quarter of 2017 as scheduled. In response to Mr KAM Nai-wai’s question, he said that the temporary traffic diversions at Finance Street East had been implemented since 2011 and the Traffic Management Liaison Group (TMLG) met almost every month to review the arrangements. The HyD would report the results of the review to the Secretariat later.

9. Mr CHAN Choi-hi asked the HyD for the schedule of meetings of the TMLG and requested that Members of the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC) be allowed to be in attendance at the meetings.

10. Mr CHIU Cheuk-siu said that members of the TMLG included representatives of the HyD, HKPF, TD, contractors and consultants. He welcomed Members to give comments on the traffic arrangements and the HyD would reflect their views at the meetings.

11. The Chair lady concluded the discussion and requested the HyD to submit the schedule of TMLG meetings and plans to solve the problem of inadequate signs at Finance Street after the meeting. The Chair lady thanked the guests for attending the meeting.

Item 5: Proposed measures to improve the traffic distribution among the road harbour crossings


12. Mr YAU Shing-mu , Under Secretary for Transport and Housing of the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) said that the Government conducted a three-month public consultation on proposed measures to improve the traffic distribution among the road harbour crossings (RHCs) starting from 8 February 2013. He pointed out that all the three improvement options proposed by the Government adopted the principle of reducing the tolls at the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC) and raising the tolls at the Cross Harbour Tunnel (CHT) (the EHC Reduction CHT Increase Option) to alleviate traffic congestion at the CHT. He emphasised that the Government was open-minded in the three options and pointed out that all the three options could bring about 30% to 40% queue reduction at the CHT during peak hours, such that cross-harbour traffic queues generally would not interfere with non-cross-harbour traffic and the traffic

document.doc 6

congestion problem at the CHT would be significantly reduced. At the same time, each option could bring about economic benefits of around $500 million per year and could bring positive effects to environmental protection.

13. Mr Anthony LOO , Assistant Commissioner/Planning of the TD said that the CHT currently had a daily average traffic throughput of about 120 000 vehicles that exceeded the tunnel’s design capacity by 54%. During peak hours, cross-harbour queues there would block non-cross-harbour traffic. With an overall increase in the gross domestic product and consumer price index, the CHT had not increased its tolls since 1999. From a resource management perspective, tolls payable by heavy vehicles in using the CHT were relatively cheap, hence attracting a large number of vehicles to use the CHT. On the other hand, the EHC had a daily average traffic throughput of about 70 000 vehicles. Despite an increased number of vehicles during peak hours, the traffic flow was generally smooth. The conduits of the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) were in fact operating with spare capacity, yet its connecting roads such as the section from Hong Kong Island Exit to Central had inadequate capacity. The Central-Wanchai Bypass planned as the connecting road of the WHC would not come into operation until 2017, posing further constraints to the capacity of the WHC. The three options proposed by the Government were based on the principle of “EHC Reduction CHT Increase”, aiming to attract around 4 000 - 5 000 marginal users to switch to the EHC every day. The purpose was to reduce the traffic queue at the CHT’s entrances by 30% to 40% during peak hours. He briefly introduced the following three options to the Committee.

i. Option AThe option involved reducing EHC private car toll by $5 and increasing CHT private car toll by $5. The tolls payable by other vehicle types at the CHT would be increased in accordance with the resource management principle, so as to reflect the road space occupied as well as the wear and tear caused on the road by these vehicles as appropriate. The tolls payable by other vehicle types at the EHC would be reduced correspondingly such that the tolls would be closer to CHT tolls after adjustment. Users of private cars would benefit more under this option.

ii. Option BThe option involved reducing EHC private car toll by $5 and increasing CHT private car toll by $5. The tolls payable by other vehicles at both tunnels would be proportionally adjusted in accordance with their original toll structure respectively (with no change in toll structure).

iii. Option CBased on the feedback received during the last round of public consultation, the option proposed to reduce EHC private car toll by $5 while increasing CHT private car toll by $10. The tolls for public transport vehicles would be frozen. As for goods vehicles, the reduction in tolls at the EHC is larger than the increase in tolls at the CHT, the differential of which is the largest among the three options. Therefore, Option C minimised the impact on the public and transport trade, while goods vehicle users would benefit more under Option C among the three options.

14. Mr Anthony LOO said that the economic benefits mentioned in the paper included shortened travel time for users, savings in fuel costs and vehicle maintenance fees. He reiterated that the purpose of the Government’s suggestions was to alleviate the traffic congestion at the CHT without imposing too much burden on the EHC. If the Government only reduced EHC tolls and maintained the status quo for CHT tolls (for instance, reducing the private car toll at the EHC by $10 and adjusting those of other types of vehicles proportionally), it would not only attract 2 900 vehicles from the CHT to EHC, but would also attract 4 100 vehicles from the WHC to CHT, making the present situation worse by causing congestion at both the EHC and CHT. Therefore, the toll reduction at the EHC must be complemented by toll increase at the CHT. He indicated that the Government could conduct a 12-month trial in the second half of

document.doc 7

2014 at the earliest to test the effectiveness of the options.

15. The Chair lady invited Members to discuss the paper. Questions and views of Members were as follow:

(a) Mr CHAN Hok-fung appreciated the Government’s attempt to solve the congestion problem at RHCs but was dissatisfied that the Government overloaded the paper with statistics and that the WHC was not included in the three proposed options. He said that the CHT was geographically well-located and members of the public would not switch from the CHT to EHC simply because of the slight toll differential. He pointed out that the main problem was the exceedingly high tolls at the WHC, which drove even residents of New Territories West and Kowloon West to use the CHT instead of the WHC. He suggested reducing the tolls at the WHC for Kowloon-bound vehicles to attract residents of New Territories West and Kowloon West to use the WHC when leaving Hong Kong Island, indirectly diverting traffic flow in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai.

(b) Mr KAM Nai-wai believed that the main problem lay in the exceedingly high tolls at the WHC. He said that although he lived in the Mid-levels, he would still prefer using the CHT during off-peak hours to save around $15 to $20. He was worried that the shortened queue as a result of the increase in tolls at the CHT would in turn attract more drivers to use the tunnel. He thought that people from the Central and Western (C&W) District, Southern District and Wan Chai District would not switch to the EHC due to geographical reasons. He personally opposed the three options proposed by the Government and agreed with Mr CHAN Hok-fung’s suggestion. He considered that the Government should conduct a trial run of reducing the tolls at the WHC of Kowloon-bound vehicles to test the effectiveness.

(c) Mr CHAN Chit-kwai did not oppose the three options proposed by the Government. However, he considered that all the three RHCs were essential, thus excluding the WHC in the consultation would constrain the actual benefits brought by the options. He doubted if the statistics provided by the Government could reflect the actual situation. The CHT was more desirable in terms of geographical location, connecting roads and traffic signs. In addition, many drivers had got used to using the CHT. The Government therefore should put into consideration the habits of drivers when formulating the improvement options.

(d) Mr CHAN Choi-hi considered excluding the WHC in the options an unacceptable policy fault. He suggested that the Government consider buying back the WHC and adjust the tolls of the three RHCs holistically and comprehensively. He thought that it was not easy to change the habits of drivers, so no matter which one of the three options the Government was going to adopt, the CHT was still expected to be saturated in the short term.

(e) Mr Joseph CHAN agreed with other Members. He was dissatisfied that the Government did not fully utilise the WHC while adjusting the strategies for the RHCs. He indicated that if drivers going to Tsim Sha Tsui from Central used the WHC during peak hours, they would pass through the tunnel fast but would often be stuck in traffic jam for around half an hour at Kowloon West before reaching Tsim Sha Tsui. As a result, the commuting time of using the WHC was similar to that of using the CHT. He indicated that even though using the WHC during off-peak hours could save around ten minutes of travelling time, drivers were unwilling to use the WHC because they needed to spend $20 more. Besides, he said that there were many heavy vehicles using the CHT. He requested the department to charge different tolls according to not only the types of vehicles, but also different time periods of a day, thus pushing heavy vehicles to use the CHT only during off-peak hours.

document.doc 8

(f) Mr WONG Kin-shing was dissatisfied that the consultation document did not mention how the WHC could help in improving the cross-harbour traffic and therefore did not accept the three options proposed by the Government.

(g) Mr Sidney LEE thought that lane merging before entering the tunnel approach would waste drivers a lot of time. He suggested that the department implement supporting measures to effectively regulate lane-cutting activities. Besides, he suggested replacing all manual toll booths with autotoll booths in order to save time on stopping and paying at the booth. He urged the department to consider allowing more bus and minibus routes to use the WHC instead of the other two RHCs.

16. Mr YAU Shing-mu agreed with Members that the CHT was conveniently located, the shortest in length, and charged the lowest tolls. One of the ways to alleviate the traffic congestion at the CHT was therefore to increase its tolls. He stated that the Government, in formulating long term policies, must conduct short-term trial schemes and use actual statistics generated from the trials as reference for handling the three RHCs in future. The current options proposed by the Government aimed at improving the traffic distribution among the RHCs by toll adjustment. He stressed that all statistics mentioned in the consultation document were reliable as they were calculated by consultants appointed by the TD using a sophisticated computer system. The department still had to obtain more accurate data through trial runs. He indicated that it was premature to include the WHC in the options because in doing so, the traffic congestion in Central would be worsened and the traffic along WHC entrance to Sai Wan and Sai Ying Pun would also be affected. It was considered that traffic could be diverted to the WHC only when the Central-Wan Chai Bypass project was completed. He reiterated that the toll adjustment options aimed at attracting marginal users to switch to the EHC, so that non-cross harbour traffic would not be affected by any traffic queues at the CHT. However, CHT users coming from or going to places close to the CHT’s ingress and egress were not the targets of the planned diversion. He emphasised that the Government needed to convince the public and Legislative Council that providing reimbursement to EHC users with public money could bring positive impacts to the economic viability, traffic conditions, air quality, and Hong Kong as a whole, which would lay foundation for using the WHC to divert traffic by public money when necessary.

17. The Chair lady started the second round of discussion on the paper. Questions and views of Members were as follows:

(a) Mr LI Po-ming said that as a resident of New Territories East, he would prefer using the EHC after considering the time and monetary cost. He agreed with Mr Joseph CHAN that heavy vehicles should cross the harbour during off-peak hours to relieve cross-harbour traffic congestion.

(b) Mr CHAN Choi-hi considered that the department should prepare for the buying back of the WHC in advance, so that it would not lead to a public perception that the department procrastinated in handling the WHC issue. He agreed that charging different tolls at different time periods and offering concessionary tolls to drivers who crossed the harbour before or after peak hours could avoid having too many vehicles from crossing the harbour at the same time.

(c) Mr CHAN Chit-kwai indicated that although the Central-Wan Chai Bypass would not be open to traffic until 2017, drivers could use the temporary road obtained from reclamation to go to the East District. He therefore hoped that the department would not refuse diverting traffic to the WHC because of its connecting road problem.

(d) Mr Jackie CHEUNG believed that drivers would not change their driving habit to use the EHC because of $5 to $10, so the “EHC Reduction CHT Increase Option” alone could not solve the existing problem. He suggested an “EHC Reduction CHT

document.doc 9

Increase WHC Reimbursement Option” as a short-term solution. The option involved providing reimbursement to WHC users by the income generated from the toll increase at the CHT, which could avoid misusing public funds. From a long-term perspective, he suggested that the Government consider building a new RHC or bridge to link Tsim Sha Tsui and Central to meet the long-term transport needs.

18. Mr YAU Shing-mu reiterated that the Government would seriously consider and handle the WHC issue in a timely manner. However, a toll reduction at the WHC to attract more drivers was not feasible at the moment owing to objective constraints because by doing so, the traffic conditions in the C&W District would be worsened. He emphasised that the Government would not look on with folded arms before the completion of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass project in 2017. Although there was limited room for improvement, the Government would do its best to improve the situation. He indicated that the Government had not given up the long-term plan to build a new RHC or bridge but stressed that a slow remedy could not meet an urgent demand. He reiterated the Government could not exert every effort to study the new RHC or bridge option and turn a blind eye to the traffic congestion problem the public was facing every day.

19. The Chair lady asked the Secretariat to submit the minutes to the THB by the end of the consultation period so that the bureau could note and follow up Members' views. The Chair lady thanked the guests for attending the meeting.

Item 6: “Our Future Railway” Stage 2 Public Engagement Exercise(C&W TTC Paper No. 27/2013)“Our Future Railway” - Scheme of North Island Line and the future plan of connecting South Island Line (West) and West Island Line


20. Mr YAU Shing-mu , Under Secretary for Transport and Housing of the THB said that the Government was conducting a consultancy study for the Review and Update of the Railway Development Strategy 2000 (RDS-2U) with a view to mapping out the long-term railway development blueprint up to 2031. Following the Stage 1 public engagement exercise (PE1) on three major regional railway corridors in the year before, the bureau was currently convening the Stage 2 public engagement exercise (PE2) to consult the public on seven local enhancement schemes for existing railway lines. When PE2 was completed, the consultant would collate the public views collected at both stages, such that the planning of the major regional railway corridors and local enhancement schemes could be further optimised in a coordinated manner. The consultant would provide overall recommendations on future railway development and was expected to complete the study in 2013. Upon completion of the study, the Government would consider the consultant’s overall recommendations in the light of the development progress of new development areas and map out the blueprint of RDS which could be cost-effective and able to meet the transportation needs. The Government would also explore the way forward for different railway projects and report the results to the public in 2014.

21. Mr Tse Ho-cheong , Senior Engineer of AECOM Asia Company Limited indicated that the consultant had shortlisted seven local enhancement schemes for public consultation after preliminarily analysing the possible planning, engineering, environmental and operational impact of various railway proposals. He briefly introduced the seven local enhancement schemes as follows:

i. North Island LineThe North Island Line would connect the vicinities of Tamar, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and Causeway Bay North, and would set up stations at all three locations. The consultant had put forward the following two options for public information.

(1) “Interchange” Scheme: The Tung Chung Line extended eastward from Hong

document.doc 10

Kong Station while the Tseung Kwan O Line extended westward from North Point Station. The extensions of both railway lines would form the alignment running through the vicinities of Tamar, HKCEC and Causeway Bay North. It might be easier to provide an interchange station at Tamar or Causeway Bay North. Under the scheme, passengers of the two railway lines could get to more districts on the Hong Kong Island directly.

(2) “Swap” Scheme: The Tung Chung Line extended eastward from Hong Kong Station and joined the eastern half of the Island Line (the section from Fortress Hill Station to Chai Wan Station) after running through Tamar, HKCEC and Causeway Bay North. The Tseung Kwan O Line extended westward and joined the western half of the Island Line (the section from Tin Hau Station to Kennedy Town Station upon the commissioning of the West Island Line), forming two new lines. Passengers could get to Kennedy Town from Po Lam through the Tseung Kwan O Line, and get to Chai Wan from Tung Chung through the Tung Chung Line.

The consultant considered that both schemes could alleviate the existing congestion of the railway network, especially that of the Island Line during peak hours.

ii. Siu Sai Wan LineSiu Sai Wan was a well-developed community where space for railway construction was limited. The consultant put forward the following three schemes with different possible problems for public discussion.

(1) “Extension” Scheme: The Island Line would be directly extended from Chai Wan Station to Siu Sai Wan, bringing greater convenience to residents.

(2) “Bifurcation” Scheme: Some locals suggested bifurcating the Island Line at Heng Fa Chuen Station to Siu Sai Wan, instead of extending the railway line from Chai Wan Station.

(3) “Feeder” Scheme: A dedicated medium capacity railway system for Siu Sai Wan would be constructed to connect Heng Fa Chuen Station without affecting the train service of the existing Island Line.

iii. South Island Line (West)The consultant considered that the project might be analysed in two sections, namely the Aberdeen Section and Pokfulam Section. The Aberdeen Section started at Wong Chuk Hang Station of the future South Island Line (East), serving the vicinities of Aberdeen, Tin Wan and Wah Fu. The consultant preliminarily suggested that the railway near Wong Chuk Hang Station should be built in viaduct, whereas the remaining parts from Aberdeen Station to Wah Fu Station could be designed to run mainly underground to reduce impacts on the local community.

The Pokfulam Section extended from Wah Fu to serve the vicinities of Cyberport and the Queen Mary Hospital and connected the Hong Kong University Station on the future West Island Line in order to extend railway service to the western part of the Southern District. The section was designed to run mainly underground. However, space for railway development in Pokfulam was limited due to the hilly terrain and steep slopes in the region. The consultant estimated that if Queen Mary Hospital Station was added, the alignment near Cyberport would run through a valley area. Building the part in tunnel would therefore be extremely difficult. The consultant indicated that they had not decided whether to implement the South Island Line (West) in phases or one go.

iv. Tuen Mun South Extension

document.doc 11

The area near Tuen Mun Ferry Pier was one of the major residential areas in Tuen Mun and two stations namely Siu Hong Station and Tuen Mun Station had been established along the West Rail Line to serve the Tuen Mun New Town. Tuen Mun South residents intending to use the West Rail Line usually travelled to Tuen Mun Station by Light Rail or MTR feeder bus. In response to the demands of some local residents, the consultant was planning to extend the West Rail Line to the vicinities of Tuen Mun Ferry Pier such that more Tuen Mun South residents could use railway service more conveniently. Since Tuen Mun Station was an elevated station, the consultant proposed that the Tuen Mun South Extension should be planned to run on viaduct.

v. Hung Shui Kiu StationHung Shui Kiu was located along the West Rail Line, between Tin Shui Wai Station and Siu Hong Station. Upon analysis, the consultant considered that it was technically feasible to add a railway station along the elevated railway section. If the Hung Shui Kiu Station was added, trains would need to stop at one more intermediate station and the journey time would become slightly longer. The Planning Department (PlanD) and Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) were conducting a study to explore ways to develop Hung Shui Kiu into a new development area. The conceptual Hung Shui Kiu Station formulated by the consultant could support the potential population growth in the district.

vi. Tung Chung West ExtensionAt present, development in Tung Chung West was limited to the vicinities of Yat Tung Estate. Nevertheless, the Housing Department (HD) was planning to construct more public housing estates in Tung Chung West, whilst the PlanD and CEDD were incorporating Tung Chung West in the scope of “Tung Chung New Town Extension Study”. The consultant therefore proposed to extend Tung Chung Line westward to satisfy the potential increase in local transport demand. Given that the existing Tung Chung Station was an underground station, the consultant advised that the Tung Chung West Extension could be constructed in tunnels. The planning of the actual alignment needed to be coordinated with the land planning of Tung Chung West and actual development of the community.

vii. Kwu Tung StationThe proposed Kwu Tung Station was located between Lok Ma Chau Station and Sheung Shui Station. The PlanD and CEDD were conducting a study on the North East New Territories New Development Areas including the Kwu Tung North New Development Area. The consultant considered that if the concerned proposal was implemented, it might be necessary to add a Kwu Tung Station on the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line. Provisions had been made near Kwu Tung along the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line for the construction of an underground railway station. If the Kwu Tung Station was added, trains would need to stop at one more intermediate station and the overall journey time would be slightly lengthened.

22. Mr TSE Ho-cheong indicated that the consultant would conduct roving exhibitions and four public forums in various districts during PE2. Also, it would liaise with the 18 District Councils, Heung Yee Kuk, Transport Advisory Committee, professionals and academic bodies with a view to collecting the views from different facets of our society.

23. The Chair lady invited Members to discuss the paper. Questions and views of Members were as follows:

(a) Mr CHAN Hok-fung strongly demanded to preserve the integrity of the Island Line as he believed that Hong Kong residents had got used to the existing mode of usage. He thought that the “Swap” Scheme would break Hong Kong Island residents’ habits to commute to work and he therefore supported the “Interchange” Scheme. He

document.doc 12

enquired about the exact locations of Tamar, HKCEC and Causeway Bay North Stations. He considered that the location of Tamar Station was close to the existing Admiralty Station and hoped that the two stations could be connected to provide convenience to passengers of the Tung Chung Line.

(b) Mr IP Kwok-him supported the direction of railway development but he considered that it was necessary for the Government to preserve the integrity of the Island Line. He stressed that the east-west direction was the dominant demand of the Island Line. The public might not be willing to accept “Swap” Scheme because it might lead to confusion and inconvenience. He thought that the consultant ought to consider how to improve the connection between the Tung Chung Line and North Island Line. He urged an early implementation of the Aberdeen Section of South Island Line.

(c) Mr CHAN Chit-kwai supported the construction of the various spur lines and considered that “railway paramount” transportation policies could only be implemented when the railway network was improved. He suggested that the South Island Line should be implemented in one go instead of dividing it into Aberdeen Section and Pokfulam Section, so that the traffic of the whole Hong Kong Island could be connected.

(d) Mr Sidney LEE enquired whether spaces had originally been reserved at Kennedy Town Station instead of Hong Kong University Station for connection with the future South Island Line during the design stage of the West Island Line. He requested the Government and consultant to consider connecting the South Island Line and West Island Line in the form of “extension” so that the public could save time on interchanging. Besides, he was worried that railway projects would continue to affect the living of the residents if the South Island Line project commenced immediately after the completion of the West Island Line project in 2014. He hoped that the Government could roll out a planning schedule as soon as possible so that the public could be psychologically prepared.

(e) Mr CHAN Choi-hi agreed with other Members’ suggestions regarding the South Island Line and West Island Line. He suggested that the Government should commence the stage one study on major regional railway corridors earlier, start planning for the development of West New Territories as soon as possible and consider using railways to connect Tuen Mun and the vicinities of Lok Ma Chau and Lo Wu.

(f) Miss SIU Ka-yi showed concern about the connection arrangements between Tamar and Admiralty Stations, as well as Causeway Bay and Causeway Bay North Stations.

(g) Mr WONG Kin-shing did not understand why the Government had to adopt two circuitous routes instead of extending the railway line from Chai Wan to Siu Sai Wan Stations if the West Island Line could get to Chai Wan directly without interchanging. He considered that the Aberdeen and Pokfulam Sections of the South Island Line should be handled together to connect the whole Central, Western and Southern District to facilitate local residents travelling to and from the Queen Mary Hospital and Hong Kong University.

24. Mr YAU Shing-mu reiterated that what had been proposed were just conceptual proposals. The exact locations of the new stations had not been confirmed as factors such as the physical environment and soil type had to be considered. In response to Mr CHAN Choi-hi’s views, he said that the Government had put forward the conceptual idea of three major regional railway corridors during PE1 last year and the Northern Link was well received by the public. He reiterated that the consultant would consolidate the consultation results of the two stages upon completion of PE2 and would give overall suggestions to the Government for making appropriate decisions.

document.doc 13

25. Mr TAM Hon-choi , Government Engineer/Railway Development 2 of the HyD advised that the potential site of Tamar Station was at the north of the Central Government Offices near the seashore; and the potential site of Causeway Bay North Station was in the Victoria Park near the typhoon shelter. The HKCEC Station at the Shatin to Central Link had reserved enough space to connect with the future HKCEC Station at the North Island Line. He stated that only after the concerned railway projects had been implemented could the department look into the actual situation to study if it was technically feasible to connect new and existing stations. He clarified underground space at Hong Kong University Station had been reserved during the construction phase of the West Island Line to connect with the future South Island Line, instead of at Kennedy Town Station as pointed out by a Member. He pointed out that the consultation document had already included various schemes for Siu Sai Wan Line, including the “Extension” Scheme suggested by Members which directly extended the Island Line from Chai Wai Station to Siu Sai Wan. However, the existing Chai Wan Station was surrounded by a large number of buildings which blocked the space for railway extension. Certain buildings including residential buildings and malls would have to be demolished if the “Extension” Scheme was adopted.

26. The Chair lady concluded the discussion. The Committee supported adopting the “Interchange” Scheme for the North Island Line to preserve the integrity of the Island Line and supported developing the South Island Line (West) as soon as possible. She asked the Secretariat to submit the minutes to the THB by the end of the consultation period so that the bureau could note and follow up Members’ views. The Chairlady thanked the guests for attending the meeting.

Item7： Bus Route Development Programme (2013-2014) for the Central and Western District(C&W TTC Paper No. 15/2013)Matters regarding the Bus Route Development Programme for the Central and Western District


27. Miss Karen PO, Senior Transport Officer, Bus and Railway Branch of the TD indicated that the department would consider the occupancy rate of every bus route and propose reducing the frequency of or cancelling certain bus routes in its annual Bus Route Development Programme in order to free up resources for more popular routes. She said the department understood that bus route rationalisation would cause certain impact on individual residents. Nevertheless, it was necessary for the department to maintain the connectivity and accessibility of the public transport service, in order to reduce wasting resources and enhance the operation efficiency of bus network, which would in turn reduce the problems of traffic congestion and air pollution, etc. She indicated that the Bus Route Development Programme for the Central and Western District in the current year included the following items:

i. Service and frequency improvement for routes such as 111, 115, 603, and 934.

ii. Enhancement of the stability of frequency for routes such as 722, 930, and 690 by re-routing.

iii. Introduction of new bus routes such as 101X by resources freed up from service rationalisation.

iv. Frequency rationalisation of individual routes, such as 5P and 5X.

document.doc 14

v. Major rationalisation programmes, such as cancelling routes 23A and 692, enhancing the service of routes 26, 15C, and 23.

28. The Chair lady suggested discussing the bus routes one by one while Members could express their views and raise questions.

Route 23

29. Mr KAM Nai-wai said the fares of bus route 23 running from the Mid-levels to Admiralty were higher than the fare of routes 5 and 10. He urged the bus company to consider introducing section fares or reducing the bus fare for the whole journey.

30. Mr CHAN Chit-kwai appreciated the bus company for improving the frequency of route 23 during the morning peak hours to cope with the increased demand of the University of Hong Kong in the new 334 academic structure. He urged the bus company to continue the related measures in the coming year, and to deploy more empty buses to depart from the bus stop at Chiu Sheung School during the afternoon peak hours between 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm in order to help clear the crowd waiting for the bus.

31. Miss Karen PO pointed out that a section fare of $6 of was already provided for route 23 from the section of Admiralty to the Mid-levels. The bus fare was currently calculated based on the total miles of the whole trip. The two-way section fare proposed by Members would attract short-distance passengers to take long haul routes, causing an impact on bus resource allocation.

32. Mr Simon WONG , Planning and Scheduling Manager of the New World First Bus/Citybus (NWFB/Citybus) indicated that routes 23 and 40 shared the same route for the section between Pokfield Road and Fleming Road in Wan Chai. Passengers, apart from taking route 23, might also opt for route 40 to go to Admiralty from the Mid-levels. He indicated that the bus company noted the views of Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, and the relevant service would be suitably adjusted as necessary.

33. Mr Vincent NGAI , Operations Manager of the New World First Bus (NWFB) indicated that the two-way section fare mechanism required passengers to place the Octopus card on the card reader again before alighting at the front. Given that buses were always full during peak hours, it would cause inconvenience to passengers on board and alighting passengers and would increase the journey time if two-way section fare was to be introduced. It would also attract other passengers to switch to the route, causing inadequate frequency to meet the demand. In fact, the current capacity of the bus company’s two-way section fare system had almost been fully utilised. Time and resources were needed to update the system if a new two-way section fare was to be introduced. Even if the system was updated, it was inappropriate to introduce two-way section fare to route 23 because there was a route 23A running the same route as no 23 for the section to Admiralty and Wan Chai. The bus fare of route 23A was lower but the occupancy rate was not high.

Route s 25 and 722

34. Members had no comment on the proposed rationalisation of the two bus routes.

Route s 101 and 101X

35. Mr CHAN Choi-hi asked the bus company for the official commissioning time of route 101X, the frequency during peak hours and the bus fare. He suggested that route 101X should use the WHC instead of the CHT in order to shorten the journey.

36. Mr CHAN Hok-fung indicated that residents welcomed the introduction of route 101X.

document.doc 15

He personally hoped that the route could be operated as soon as possible. He believed that the demand of the service was quite huge and it would be necessary to increase the frequency in future.

37. The Chair lady considered the $11 bus fare of route 101X as quite expensive. She urged the bus company to consider lowering the fare.

38. Mr Simon WONG indicated that the fare of route 101X was determined with reference to other express bus routes between the C&W District and Kowloon East. The current level also met the TD’s requirement on the Scale of Fares. Upon operation of the route 101X, route 101 would remain its frequent service. Passengers could choose the most suitable route to suit their own needs. He indicated that buses needed to pass along Jordan Road and Gascoigne Road if using the WHC. The bus company worried that the frequent serious congestion at Jordan Road would delay the bus service. Moreover, there were bus lanes at the CHT Toll Plaza, Canal Road Flyover, and near Hong Chong Road. The journey time of route 101X could then be reduced to a minimum by using the CHT.

Route s 111, 115, 302, 305, 336, 603, and 680

39. Members had no comment on the proposed rationalisation of those bus routes.

Route 905

40. Mr CHAN Hok-fung supported an increase in the frequency of route 905 to meet the demand of residents. He said that the bus stop of route 904 was located at the Kwan Yick Building Phase II, but the bus stop of route 905 was at the opposite Nanyang Commercial Bank. Consequently, many passengers often crossed the road during the afternoon peak hours in order to catch the bus that came earlier, which was extremely dangerous. He suggested the TD and the bus company adopt improvement measures, and requested the HKPF to keep an eye on the situation.

41. Mr CHAN Choi-hi requested the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (KMB) and the NWFB to coordinate their operation schedules during peak hours to avoid prolonged gaps.

42. Mr Simon WONG advised that the bus company would regularly monitor the lost trip rate of every route and would adjust the deployment of buses if necessary in order to resume a stable frequency.

43. Mr Vincent NGAI replied that the NWFB was responsible for the operation of the route during the afternoon peak hours from 15:49 to 17:17, while the KMB was responsible for the period between 17:22 and 18:40. The NWFB would relay Members’ views to the KMB later. In response to Members’ request of relocating the bus stops of routes 904 and 905 at the same place before proceeding to the Kowloon side, he said that the bus company had to first consider re-routing the service. That might increase the journey time, which would in turn affect the frequency. Passengers concurrently waiting for other cross-harbour routes to Kowloon might also be affected. The NWFB, therefore would study with the KMB ways to balance the demands of different parties.

Route s 930, 934, 948, 962P, 968, 970, 970X, 982X, 182, and N969


Route s 5P and 5X

45. Mr CHAN Hok-fung agreed that route 5P could facilitate passengers going to Wan Chai, but he worried that with the last bus stop designated at Sai Cheung Street to pick up passengers,

document.doc 16

the two 5P buses would not be fully loaded before leaving the Western District. Conversely, the occupancy rate of route 5X was extremely high during the morning peak hours. Passengers waiting at the Belcher Bay Park might not be able to get on the bus. If the bus company suddenly deployed two buses from route 5X to route 5P, it might seriously affect passengers of route 5X. In addition, he pointed out that the routing of routes 5X and 5P were different, with the former travelling on Hennessy Road and the latter on Gloucester Road. It was unlikely that all passengers alighting at Wan Chai would switch to route 5P. He suggested the bus company should first deploy one bus to route 5P for a trial run, and increase to two if the service was proved to be effective.

46. Mr CHAN Choi-hi was against the proposed deployment of buses from route 5X to route 5P, but did not object to deploying other buses to run route 5P.

47. Dr Malcolm LAM concurred with Mr CHAN Choi hi. He said that route 5X was also an express route and that passengers would not skip 5X and wait for 5P as the bus company expected. The diversion effect might not be satisfactory as planned.

48. Miss LO Yee-hang requested to add bus stops at Kwan Yick Building Phase III and Centre Street for route 5X (eastbound) before going to Connaught Road West via Centre Street.

49. Mr Simon WONG indicated that around 40% of Western District residents currently taking route 5X would alight at Wan Chai. The re-routed 5P could therefore satisfy the needs of those passengers and attract passengers who used to take other bus routes to Wan Chai to switch to 5P as well. Moreover, the bus fare of 5P and 5X were the same, but it took only 10 minutes for route 5P to travel from the Belcher Bay Park to Wan Chai North. He believed that many Wan Chai-bound passengers of route 5X would switch to route 5P. More room of route 5X could then be spared for passengers in Kennedy Town East. He indicated that the journey time would be longer if bus stops were added at Kwan Yick Building Phase III and Centre Street for route 5X. As a result, its journey time would be similar to those of routes 5B and 10. The bus company therefore did not favour the proposal. He said that the bus company had noted Members’ views and would review the frequency of route 5P.

Route s 37X and 70M

50. Members had no comment on the proposed rationalisation of the two bus routes.

Route 23A

51. Mr KAM Nai-wai enquired about the occupancy rate of route 23A from Seymour Road to Lai Tak Tsuen. He pointed out that it was unreasonable for the bus company not to offer any concessionary fares to affected passengers who took route 26 and interchange with route 12.

52. Mr MAN Chi-wah indicated that he was affected by the rationalization of route 23A and thought that the routing of 23A was undesirable. He agreed in principle to allocate the resources of route 23A to other suitable routes, but the re-allocation of resources proposed by the bus company was too decentralised, with the four buses allocated to routes 12, 23, and 26. Moreover, there would be one less route to serve the C&W District and affected passengers would not enjoy any concessionary fares as compensation. He therefore found the rationalisation proposal unacceptable.

53. Miss Siu Ka-yi indicated that the bus company did not offer interchange concessions to the affected passengers. The year before, the Committee proposed to evenly allocate the four buses of route 23A to routes 12 and 23, but the proposal was not implemented. She hoped that the bus company could seriously consider allocating the four buses of the original route 23A to other routes serving the upper Mid-levels, instead of benefitting residents of other districts at the

document.doc 17

expense of upper Mid-levels residents.

54. Mr WONG Kin-shing indicated that upper Mid-levels residents would be the victims whenever there was bus rationalisation, no matter it involved increasing or decreasing bus frequency. He emphasized that not every Mid-levels resident owned a vehicle and that many elderly people and students had to rely on buses. He thought that the NWFB, as a provider of franchised bus service, should be prepared that it could not make profits in every route. He also suggested that the TD should consider introducing light bus service to serve the route. He thought that the transport demand of Mid-levels residents should not be ignored.

55. Mr YIP Wing-shing expressed his support on the concept of bus rationalisation scheme but he emphasised that the rationalization process should aim at optimising the current bus service. Members were not convinced that residents could benefit from the current scheme proposed by the bus company and TD.

56. The Chair lady strongly objected to the proposal of cancelling route 23A. She pointed out that the cancellation of the route would force office-goers to go to Robinson Road or Central to catch a bus. Many senior citizens and domestic helpers also used the bus route to return home after shopping. She hoped Members would support the motion to retain route 23A.

57. Mr Simon WONG indicated that interchange discounts would be provided to affected passengers of route 23A for interchange between routes 12, 26 or 5B. He clarified that the four buses of the original route 23A would be allocated to routes 26 (one bus), 23 (one bus) and 970 (two buses) and would continue to serve the residents of the C&W district. Moreover, one bus would be added to route 12. The overall number of bus serving the C&W District would actually increase by one. He indicated that there were 42 trips of route 23A every day. The total number of passengers embarking at Jadestone Court of Seymour Street and Castle Road was 67, which meant that the average number of passengers per trip was 1.6. The total number of passengers alighting at the two bus stops was 97, which meant that the average number of alighting passengers per trip was 2.3. The lowest occupancy rate was only 11%, which showed that the number of affected passengers was minimal. Comparing to other popular routes such as 23 and 970, there was an obvious resources mismatch for route 23A.

58. Ms Charlize LIU , the Public Affairs Manager of the NWFB/Citybus indicated that the operating environment of the Citybus had become very difficult amid the competition with railway and the surge in oil prices. The bus fares of local routes on Hong Kong Island had not been adjusted for over a decade and the bus company had been serving the territory with the lowest bus fare. She appreciated Members’ support on the concept of bus service rationalisation. She reiterated that the occupancy rate of bus route 23A was continually low, so the bus company inevitably had to make a trade-off to effectively allocate limited resources. She indicated that the bus company had already offered interchange discounts to affected passengers and would implement appropriate publicity measures with the TD.

59. Mr KAM Nai-wai said the NWFB/Citybus must have been well aware that some routes were more popular while some others were less popular when awarded the bus franchise, so it should not casually terminate loss-making routes. He was dissatisfied that the bus company had used data to mislead Members. He pointed out that Seymour Street was a pure residential area where most residents would take the bus only during peak hours. It was unreasonable to calculate the occupancy rate by using the average number of passengers per trip. Moreover, he pointed out that the highest occupancy rate of route 23A during peak hours was 66%, which was higher than the 55% of route 26. According to the bus company’s principle, the frequency of route 26 should be cut instead of route 23.

60. Mr CHAN Chit-kwai said that the roads in the Mid-levels were almost saturated and traffic congestion was serious. Apart from the installation of escalators, bus interchange schemes might also mitigate the problem. He stressed that the interchange scheme should take care of the

document.doc 18

affected passengers by offering more route options and interchange discounts. He indicated his support for the interchange scheme.

61. Mr Sidney Lee pointed out that the paper did not mention allocating the two buses from route 23A to 970. He suspected if the bus company was trying to hide the whereabouts of the buses. The representative’s reply given at the meeting also seemed to avoid Members’ queries in a perfunctory manner. He thought that the bus company should purchase one more bus for route 970 if there was a demand, instead of taking away bus resources from other routes. He concurred with other Members that the provider of franchised bus service should cover loss by cross-subsidy from profitable business and should not casually cancel loss-making routes.

62. Miss Siu Ka-yi also thought that the bus company’s representative did not respond seriously to Members’ questions. She reiterated that the bus resources after cancellation of route 23A should be re-allocated to other routes in the same district. She hoped that the bus company would not coerce Members to accept the proposed cancellation of route 23A by threatening to withdraw the proposal of improving the frequency of route 26.

63. Mr YIP Wing-shing thought that all bus companies and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) should complement each other, in order to optimise the transport network as a whole. The bus companies should not consider MTRCL as a competitor and cancel the routes affected by the MTRCL.

64. Mr Simon WONG pointed out that the highest occupancy rate during peak hours mentioned in the paper referred to the daily trip with the highest utilisation rate. According to the statistics, the daily ridership of route 23A was 3 470, while the daily ridership of route 26 was 4 002. It was obvious that the latter was more popular, and its service coverage was broader. He stressed that the bus company had proposed to deploy more buses to run routes 23, 26, 970, 970X and 12 when preparing the bus service rationalisation scheme. The proposals had been clearly stated in the paper. He indicated that the bus company had noted Members’ views and would actively consider offering interchange discounts on more routes.

65. The Chair lady asked Members to vote on the motion. The following motion proposed by the Chair lady and Mr HUI Chi-fung was passed:

Motion:This District Council strongly opposes to the proposed cancellation of the four buses of route 23A stated in the Bus Route Development Programme (2013-2014), which would deprive residents at Seymour Road of the bus service between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay. This District Council strongly requests the bus company to retain route 23A so that residents can enjoy the most basic level of service.

(18 Member voted f or the motion : Ms CHENG Lai-king, Mr HUI Chi-fung, Mr CHAN Hok-fung, Mr IP Kwok-him, Mr KAM Nai-wai, Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, Mr Sidney Lee, Mr CHAN Choi-hi, Mr Joseph CHAN, Miss SIU Ka-yi, Miss LO Yee-hang, Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, Mr WONG Kin-shing, Mr LI Po-ming, Mr LUI Hung-pan, Mr LI Wang-fung, Mr CHAN Chi-shing, and Ms Shirley WONG)

(0 Member voted against the motion )

(4 Members abstain ed from voting : Mr YIP Wing-shing, Mr MAN Chi-wah, Dr Malcolm LAM, Mr Thomas NG)

Route 26

66. Mr KAM Nai-wai indicated that route 26 had a serious lost trip problem. He supported the bus service rationalization in principle, provided that the bus company must provide reasonable

document.doc 19

interchange discounts and be fair to the C&W District by reducing the number of buses of all 18 districts.

67. Miss Siu Ka-yi said that the lost trip problem of route 26 was serious. She urged the bus company to be considerate of the rehabilitants and the elderly who frequently went to the Tung Wah Hospital. The bus company should ensure the punctuality of bus service so that the infirm did not have to wait long for buses.

68. Mr Simon WONG indicated that route 26 could depart on time at the Lai Tak Tsuen Terminus. As the route was a circular route and no terminus could be provided at Hollywood Road, the bus company was unable to adjust the time intervals of bus trips to normal even having noticed that there was traffic jam on the way. He indicated that the uneven time interval of bus trips of route 26 was unavoidable even after deploying more buses, but the waiting time would decrease.

Routes 15C, 12, 690, 692, and 969B


70. The Chair lady invited Members to discuss the paper. Members’ views on other routes in the C&W District were as follows:

(a) Mr Joseph CHAN suggested that the bus company use single-decked buses for route 15 during off-peak hours to mitigate air pollution and avoid wasting resources. Moreover, he indicated that the special departures of route 12A would only go from Admiralty to Macdonnell Road during morning peak hours. The bus would not carry any passengers when returning from Macdoannell Road to Admiralty, which had ignored the needs of the commuting residents on the peak. He indicated that route 12A was usually fully loaded at Lippo Center during the peak hours from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. He urged the bus company to strengthen their service and closely monitor the impact of the newly-operated green minibus route 1A on route 12A.

(b) Mr CHAN Hok-fung pointed out that many residents hoped to add a bus stop for route 5X near the Central Pier no. 7 to facilitate them interchanging with the ferry. He indicated that interchange discounts were currently offered to passengers of route 10 for interchange with route 8X, and asked whether the bus company would consider offering similar discounts for interchange with route 19. He stressed that route 904 had a serious lost trip problem during the peak hours between 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and urged the bus company to take follow-up actions. He requested the bus company and the TD to operate route 18X as soon as possible and to introduce overnight bus service to and from Sai Wan.

(c) Mr CHAN Choi-hi suggested the bus company consider operating tunnel routes via the WHC and proactively optimise interchange service. He requested the TD and the bus company to incorporate data of other aspects, such as the lost trip rate of every route, in the Bus Route Development Programme for the C&WDC’s reference.

(d) Mr WONG Kin-shing pointed out that the C&WDC had been negotiating for extending route 18P to Taikoo Place for six consecutive years. He considered the current routing of 18P could not satisfy the needs of passengers working in the industrial area in North Point. Moreover, he pointed out that the fare of route 18X was too expensive and wondered if the fare was determined according to the charge of Airbus route A12.

(e) Miss Siu Ka-yi indicated that the lost trip rate of route 40M was high during the morning peak hours. Some buses were already fully loaded when they arrived at the

document.doc 20

Mid-levels. Consequently, Mid-levels residents who did not have to cross the harbor were driven to pay more to take the cross harbor tunnel route 103. She requested the bus company to take follow-up actions and to consider offering interchange discounts for route 103 to allow Mid-levels residents using route 103 at a reasonable rate.

71. Mr Vincent NGAI replied that the request of using single-decked buses for route 15 could not be acceded to because those buses were designed for travelling on mountain roads with lengths different from those of ordinary single-decked buses. If frequency had to be increased to make up for the reduced capacity as a result of using single-decked buses, the cost would be higher than the current practice of running double-decked buses. Bus deployment would also be made difficult. In addition, it was costly to purchase and maintain a bus. Given that the West Island Line and South Island line of MTRCL would be put into operation very soon, there would not limited room for bus service expansion. Hence it would not be cost-effective to spend $3 million to purchase a bus just for adding a bus trip for a route during peak hours. Moreover, the bus company had noted the wish of residents from different areas to add more point-to-point express routes. The bus company would work towards the direction by proposing more express routes in the future bus route development programmes. In response to the question on the frequency of route 904, he advised that the afternoon peak hours mentioned by Members was the time when the operation of service was switched from the NWFB to KMB. He would relay Members’ views to the KMB.

72. Mr Philip WONG , Operations Manager of the Citybus indicated that the original routing of 5X did not include the Central Pier no. 7. Because of the Central – Wan Chai Bypass works, re-routing was introduced and a stop was added at the International Finance Centre on Man Yiu Street accordingly for the convenience of passengers heading for Central Pier no. 7. Since there were not many passengers alighting at the International Finance Centre and the current stop was only about 250 metres away from the Central Pier no. 7, he suggested maintaining the current traffic arrangement.

73. Miss Karen PO indicated that the TD and the bus company were discussing the arrangement of the terminus of route 18X. The TD would inform Members of the arrangement once the details were finalised. She reiterated that the occupancy rate of route 23A was relatively low. The TD hoped to re-allocate the bus resources of 23A to other Mid-levels routes such as 12 or 26. She indicated that the TD would discuss with the bus company again on the re-allocation of resources to other Mid-levels bus routes upon cancellation of route 23A and on the enhancement of interchange discounts.

74. The Chair lady concluded the discussion and requested the bus companies and the TD to give a written reply after the meeting on other unanswered questions. The Chair lady thanked the guests for attending the meeting.

Item 8： Request for engaging in effective measures to safeguard the safety of pedestrians and vehicles at Fung Mat Road

( C&W TTC Paper No. 18/2013) (5:53 pm – 5:56 pm)

75. The Chair lady invited Members to discuss the paper. Mr CHAN Hok-fung welcomed the TD’s decision to implement the improvement measures. He stressed that there was currently no crossing facility at Fung Mat Road near the petrol filling station. Many street traders had reflected to him that vehicles parking next to Gate 7 of the Western Wholesale Food Market would obscure the visibility of pedestrians and drivers. He urged the TD to commence consultation as soon as possible to collect views of street traders on the improvement measures.

76. M is s Shirley LEUNG , Engineer/Central and Western 3 of the TD advised that the TD was conducting a consultation on the proposed measures with a view to implement the improvement

document.doc 21

measures as soon as possible.

77. The Chair lady thanked the guests for attending the meeting.

Item 9： Power failure of tram service on 21 November 2012 (C&W TTC Paper No. 20/2013) (5:56 pm – 6:07 pm)


(a) Miss SIU Ka-yi enquired whether the tram company had launched publicity to show the public how to use QR code to retrieve information on approaching trams and other special real-time information. She also asked how passengers without high technology electronic products could obtain such information. She requested the tram company to provide Members with the list of the 18 tram stops where LED displays would be installed and the schedule of LED display installation.

(b) Mr CHAN Hok-fung pointed out that even tram drivers were not aware of any

service delays, so he supported the installation of LED displays. He asked the tram company to briefly explain how the LED displays could help tram drivers retrieve the latest information and how the information could be delivered to passengers at tram stops without LED displays.

(c) Ms Shirley WONG appreciated that the tram company had placed many resources in refurbishing tram compartments. She stressed that many tram passengers were senior citizens who had limited knowledge on QR code. It was therefore not effective to enhance publicity. She considered that the tram company should focus on installing LED displays and return the benefits generated from advertising income to passengers.

(d) Mr CHAN Choi-hi suggested the tram company lower the luminance level of LED displays to reduce light pollution.

79. Mr David WONG , Operations Manager of the Hong Kong Tramways Limited indicated that the tram company had promoted QR code through the company homepage and the passenger notice board at every tram stop. Passengers were shown how to use QR code to access the mobile version of the homepage of the Hong Kong Tramways Limited in order to obtain information about the three approaching trams and some special real-time information. He undertook that the tram company would enhance publicity later and would install LED displays at the 18 main tram stops to provide real-time information to passengers without high technology electronic products. LED displays would not be installed at some roadside stops for the time being because of limited space and the low utilisation rate. He indicated that the application of LED display installation had been submitted to the TD for assessment, and the TD had agreed the application in principle. The tram company would prepare a proposal for every tram stop where LED displays would be installed and submit the proposals to the TD for individual assessment. The first LED display would be installed at Whitty Street tram stop. He indicated that a driver’s terminal would be installed in every tram compartment Some terminals would be connected to the passenger information system, in which information such as the name of the next tram stop and other special news such as black rainstorm warning and typhoon signal would be displayed.


Item 10： Improvement to the traffic arrangement at the junction of Hillier Street and Wing Lok Street

document.doc 22



(a) Mr CHAN Choi-hi agreed that the section in question was quite steep but he did not think that it was unsuitable to provide pedestrian crossing facilities there. He urged the TD to consider other means to improve road safety and to install traffic light signals at the junction. He also asked the TD to report on the progress and schedule of the consultation exercise.

(b) Mr Sidney LEE asked the department to explain why all vehicles were currently not allowed to turn right to Hillier Street from Wing Lok Street. He urged the department to consider lifting such restriction for the convenience of residents if they did not block the traffic flow. He reflected that the pavement of Hillier Street was quite narrow and he urged the TD to devise an overall planning in order to solve the chronic traffic congestion problem.

(c) Mr KAM Nai-wai indicated that the westbound traffic of Wing Lok Street was often seriously congested during peak hours. He had written to the HKPF and the Central and Western District Office (C&WDO) a few days before, requesting the departments concerned to follow up the problem of obstructing passageways during the morning peak hours caused by several news agencies’ distributing of newspapers. He thought that the TD should widen the pavements before installing light signals so that pedestrians did not have to wait on the vehicular lane for crossing the road.

82. Mr Francis LOK , Engineer/Central and Western 1 of the TD stated that vehicles mainly went from Bonham Strand via Hillier Street to Connaught Road Central or Des Voeux Road Central during peak hours. To reduce the number of vehicles using Hillier Street to enter Connaught Road Central or Des Voeux Road Central during peak hours, all vehicles on Wing Lok Street were prohibited to turn right to Hillier Street between 10:00 am and 7:00 pm from Monday to Friday. He shared the view of Mr Kam Nai-wai that there was not sufficient space for pedestrians to wait before crossing the road due to site constraints. He indicated that the A2 exit of Sheung Wan MTR station was situated on a steep road where the provision of pedestrian crossing facilities was not suitable. Drivers should stop before the stop line and pedestrians should be able to cross the road. He said that the TD was considering providing pedestrian crossing facilities next to the Hillier Commercial Building at Hillier Street and would contact the C&WDO to conduct consultation as soon as possible, and the result of which was expected to be ready in two to three months.

83. Mr KAM Nai-wai thought that the crux of the problem was the overly narrow pavement, instead of the absence of pedestrian crossing facilities. He objected to the provision of pedestrian crossing facilities there because the works would further occupy the limited space. He suggested that the TD widen the pavement next to CS Tower and requested the departments concerned to address the problem of newspaper distribution.

84. Mr CHAN Choi-hi did not oppose the proposed provision of pedestrian crossing facilities, but the three-moth consultation period was too long. He thought that the department needed to improve the traffic arrangement of the whole junction.

85. Mr CHAN Kwong-ming , Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team (Central District) of the HKPF advised that the HKPF had noted Members’ views and would follow up the problem as soon as possible.

document.doc 23

86. M is s Cheryl CHOW , District Officer (Central and Western) indicated that people distributing newspapers could only be dissuaded from blocking the access to MTR stations unless they had obstructed the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in cleansing the street. She stated that the C&WDO would discuss with the departments concerned, under the premise of balancing the demands of all parties involved, ways to minimise the obstruction caused by newspaper distribution activities.

87. The Chair lady asked Members to vote on the motion. The following motion proposed by Mr CHAN Choi-hi and Mr CHAN Chit-kwai was passed:

Motion:This District Council requested the Transport Department to study ways to improve the traffic arrangement at the junction of Hillier Street and Wing Lok Street for the convenience of pedestrians and drivers.

(21 Members voted f or the motion : Ms CHENG Lai-king, Mr HUI Chi-fung, Mr YIP Wing-shing, Mr CHAN Hok-fung, Mr IP Kwok-him, Mr KAM Nai-wai, Mr MAN Chi-wah, Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, Mr Sidney Lee, Mr CHAN Choi-hi, Mr Joseph CHAN, Dr Malcolm LAM, Miss SIU Ka-yi, Miss LO Yee-hang, Mr WONG Kin-shing, Mr Thomas NG, Mr LI Po-ming, Mr LUI Hung-pan, Mr LI Wang-fung, Mr CHAN Chi-shing, and Ms Shirley WONG)

(0 Member voted against the motion )

(0 Member abstain ed from voting )


Item 11： Concern over the recurrence of vehicle breakdown at the section of Eastern Street between Queen’s Road West and First Street



(a) Miss Siu Ka-yi indicated that the violation of traffic legislation at the section in question was serious as evident from the large number of fixed penalty traffic offence tickets issued by the HKPF. She referred to the previous traffic offence at Eastern Street in which the offender was fined only $8,000 and considered that the penalty was too lenient to achieve a deterrent effect. She urged the HKPF to step up patrolling at the location and requested the TD to review whether the current improvement measures were sufficient.

(b) Mr CHAN Hok-fung appreciated the HKPF’s effort in continual patrolling at Eastern Street and to take enforcement actions against illegal drivers. He suggested the TD and the HyD consider narrowing the vehicular lane of Eastern Street to prevent heavy vehicles from using it. He also asked the HKPF to pay attention to the traffic condition in the vicinity of Best Western Hotel Harbour View. He suggested that coaches should load and unload passengers only inside the car park of the hotel to prevent tourists from jaywalking with their luggage.

(c) Mr KAM Nai-wai did not agree to install closed circuit televisions to monitor that section because the HKPF could not use the video clips of closed circuit television as evidence for prosecution and the monitoring was an act of invasion of privacy. He suggested that the HKPF continue frequent prosecutions. If there was no improvement a year later, he suggested that the TD should prohibit all trucks, including vehicles over 5.5 tons, from travelling on Eastern Street.

document.doc 24

(d) Mr MAN Chi-wah expressed reservation about the suggestion of prohibiting vehicles exceeding 5.5 tons from using Eastern Street. He was of the view that many drivers would still travel on Eastern Street even the restriction was in force and might even speed up to avoid the police. The result would be more dangerous and he therefore thought that it was more effective to strengthen enforcement actions than to regulate by legislation.

90. Ms Ki k i YEUNG , Engineer/Special Duties of the TD stated that the TD had installed a clear traffic sign at the junction of Queen’s Road West and Eastern Street, prohibiting any vehicle exceeding 5.5 tons to turn right to Eastern Street from Queen’s Road West. She pointed out that the proposed restriction would have a greater impact on the shops nearby. The TD should strike a balance between road safety and the shops’ needs for loading and unloading goods. She pointed out that the department and relevant parties had been discussing on relocating the stop of hotel coaches outside Best Western Hotel Harbour View away from the junction. As a matter of fact, the location where coaches currently used to unload passengers had been prescribed as a prohibited zone where vehicles were not allowed to stop or loading/unloading passengers from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

91. Mr LAU Wing-fu , Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team (Western District) of the HKPF indicated that the HKPF had proactively followed up the problem of hotel coaches outside Best Western Hotel Harbour View with the TD. They were aware of the chaotic situation where passengers crossed the street after alighting from coaches. The HKPF would strengthen inspections there and would randomly conduct anti-jaywalking operations. Although the HKPF could not enforce the regulation on limiting coaches to load or unload passengers inside the car park of the hotel, it could take enforcement actions against drivers who did not comply with the law. On the other hand, the HKPF had advised major shops in the district to use light vehicles for logistics operation in order to avoid danger or traffic congestion.


Item 12： Matters regarding the green minibus routes for the Central the Western District (C&W TTC Paper No. 23/2013) (6:34 pm – 6:40 pm)


(a) Mr CHAN Hok-fung requested the minibus company to stipulate the mode of charging of circular routes so that passengers were able to know the calculation of the fare. He indicated that he had received repeated complaints from residents about the poor attitude of minibus drivers of routes 12 and 13. There was even a reported case that a student had his leg trapped by the door of a minibus and was almost dragged by it. He urged the HKPF and the TD to strengthen inspection on the service. The TD might consider a re-tender exercise of the routes so as to invite potential contractors who could provide excellent service to operate the routes. He suggested the TD consider extending the light bus route 12 to Kwun Lung Lau Phase 1 for the convenience of residents.

(b) Ms Shirley WONG indicated that minibus routes 12 and 13 had a serious lost trip problem between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm and that the operator had no intention to improve the situation. She agreed that the TD should conduct a re-tendering exercise for both routes so as to invite potential contractors who could offer excellent service to operate the routes.

document.doc 25

94. Miss Yvonne Tsui , Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western of the TD indicated that the TD had written to the operator in view of the poor performance of drivers of routes 12 and 13. The operator was asked to closely monitor the performance of its drivers, and to remind them to ensure the safety of passengers and other road users while observing traffic regulations. Moreover, the TD would deploy officers to conduct on-board surveys from time to time to check the performance of drivers. The TD had conducted an on-board survey in the afternoon on 16 April 2013 and found that the performance of drivers of routes 12 and 13 were generally good. Some drivers would tell passengers to sit down before pulling off. The TD would continue to monitor the service quality of routes 12 and 13.

95. The Chair lady thanked the guest for attending the meeting.

Item 13： Concern over the problem of inadequate parking space in Hau Wo Street, Western District



(a) Mr CHAN Hok-fung indicated that many restaurant owners at Hau Wo Street also wished to open the current goods vehicle parking spaces to private cars. He pointed out that the daily utilisation rate of goods vehicle parking space at Hau Wo Street was as high as over 90% because there were goods vehicles parking at the parking spaces for 24 hours. He thought that goods vehicles should use lorry parks for long term parking if necessary, instead of occupying roadside parking spaces for a long time when there was already a serious lack of hourly parking spaces in the Western District. He indicated that Mr CHAN Chit-kwai had consulted the goods vehicle industry who considered the goods vehicle parking spaces at Sai See Street adequate to suit their needs. The TD should therefore open the roadside hourly parking spaces at Hau Wo Street to private cars. He then enquired the TD about the time of implementation of the proposed provision of hourly parking spaces for private cars at the New Praya in Kennedy Town.

(b) Mr KAM Nai-wai enquired the TD how to calculate the daily utilisation rate of goods vehicle parking spaces at Hau Wo Street. To mitigate the problem of inadequate parking spaces in the Western District, he suggested the TD open goods vehicle parking spaces at Hau Wo Street to private cars from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. For the rest of the time, goods vehicles could continue to park there. Alternatively, half of the goods vehicle parking spaces could be opened for the use of private cars..

(c) Mr CHAN Choi-hi agreed that the nature of Hau Wo Street had been transformed and the TD should adjust its policy accordingly. He and Mr CHAN Chit-kwai had consulted the practitioners of the industry and urged the TD to start communication with the industry on the adjustment of the number of parking spaces.

(d) Mr YIP Wing-shing indicated that the Committee had reflected to the TD several times the problem of inadequate parking spaces in the Western District. He pointed out that Hau Wo Street had undergone transformation in which shops engaging in business related to construction equipment and waste recycling had become restaurants. He urged the TD to change some of the parking spaces for goods vehicles into parking spaces for private cars to satisfy the new demand of the community.

97. M is s Shirley LEUNG , Engineer/Central and Western 3 of the TD replied that since Members had indicated there were insufficient parking spaces for both private cars and goods

document.doc 26

vehicles in the Western District, it was necessary for the TD to balance the demand on both sides. She indicated that the TD had conducted a survey on the daily utilisation rate of goods vehicle parking spaces at Hau Wo Street. The result showed that a parking space was not occupied by the same goods vehicle for a long time. The parking spaces were fee-charging between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, and were free of charge for the rest of the time. The utilisation rate of each time slot had reached a certain level. In response to Mr Chan Hok-fung’ s question, she pointed out that the TD had finished the provision of 14 private car parking spaces at the New Praya in Kennedy Town on 28 March and four more were suggested to be added at Davis Street. She indicated that the TD was studying the possibility of relocating the goods vehicle parking spaces at Hau Wo Street to other places to free up some spaces for private cars.

98. The Chair lady thanked the guest for attending the meeting.

Item 14： Action checklists on matters arising from the last meeting (C&W TTC Paper No. 26/2013) (6:50 pm – 6:51 pm)

99. The Committee noted the paper.

Item 15 ： Any other business (6:51 pm)

100. The Chair lady asked Members to take note of the information paper “Universal Accessibility” - Evaluation of the design of the “Universal Accessibility” facilities at two footbridges (C&W TTC Paper No. 28/2013).

Item 16 ： Date of the next meeting (6:52 pm)

101. The Chairlady announced that the next TTC meeting would be held on 30 June 2013. Paper submission deadline for government departments would be 29 May 2013. Paper submission deadline for Members would be 4 June 2013.

102. The meeting was adjourned at 6:52 pm

The minutes were confirmed on ____20 June 2013________

Chairlady: Ms CHENG Lai-king

Secretary: Miss CHUNG Yeuk-hung

Secretariat of the Central and Western District CouncilJune 2013

document.doc 27

minutes of the 8th meeting of c&wdc traffic and … · web viewminutes of the 8th meeting of...

Documents