"Interchange" Right Direction for Bus Development

Bus-bus interchanges can help improve bus network coverage to the benefit of bus passengers while at the same time reduce the pressure for new direct bus routes, Chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee (TAC), Dr Cheng Hon-kwan, said after a visit to the facilities this (April 19) morning.

Accompanied by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng and the Acting Commissioner for Transport, Dr Dorothy Chan, TAC members visited the bus-bus interchange at Shing Mun Tunnel and the one at Kwun Tong Road.

Speaking to the media, Dr Cheng said: "Bus-bus interchange scheme has a positive effect on the development of public transport, especially in enhancing bus efficiency. TAC members support the introduction of such facilities."

The Secretary for Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng, noted that bus-bus interchange was one of the key elements in the new Transport Strategy he unveiled last October.

He said: "It may take some time for people to get used to the idea of having to interchange between buses on journey but it has proven beneficial to bus passengers, bus companies and the general public.

"For bus passengers, they can go to more destinations at discount fares. For bus companies, it means better utilisation of resources and greater operational efficiency and for the general public, they can enjoy the better traffic flow and better traffic management."

Mr Ng disclosed that plans were in hand to introduce bus-bus interchange at Admiralty, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tin Shui Wai, Western Harbour Crossing, Tate's Cairn Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Crossing.

At the Kwun Tong Road Bus-Bus Interchange, the number of passengers interchanging has increased by 25 per cent to about 2,500 per weekday since the implementation of the scheme on March 26, 2000. This accounts for about two per cent of the total daily ridership on the six routes in the interchange scheme. The six routes operate about 1,900 trips a day.

The number of passengers who use the Shing Mun Tunnel Bus-Bus Interchange is about 21,150 per weekday, accounting for 16 per cent of the daily ridership of the bus routes involved. The daily scheduled bus trips for these 17 routes are 2,159.

TAC members taking part in the visit were Professor Anthony Yeh, Professor Tsang Shu-ki, Mr Almon Poon, Mr Kwok Kwok-chuen, Mr Lester Huang and Mr Lai Chi-tong.

END/Wednesday, April 19, 2000

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