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The 2nd Meeting of
the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) of
the Kowloon City District Council (KCDC)
Date: 17 March 2020 (Thursday)
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Venue: Conference Room, Kowloon City District Office,
7/F, Kowloon City Government Offices,
42 Bailey Street, Kowloon
Present:
Chairman: Mr LEE Hin-long
Vice-chairman: Mr FUNG Man-tao, Joshua
Members: Mr WONG Wing-kit
Mr LAI Kwong-wai (Arrived at 2:35 p.m.)
Miss CHAU Hei-man
Mr PUN Kwok-wah, JP (Left at 7:13 p.m.)
Mr KWOK Tin-lap (Arrived at 2:42 p.m.)
Mr LAM Tak-shing (Left at 8:40 p.m.)
Mr YUM Kwok-tung, Pius (Arrived at 2:39 p.m.)
Miss MAK Sui-ki, Jakki
Mr SIU Leong-sing
Mr HE Huahan (Left at 4:32 p.m.)
Mr TSANG Kin-chiu
Mr YEUNG Chun-yu
The Hon LEE Wai-king, Starry, SBS,
JP
(Left at 3:52 p.m.)
Mr WONG Kwok-tung, Daniel
Dr KWAN Ka-lun
Mr MA Hei-pang
Mr NG Po-keung, MH (Arrived at 3:02 p.m.)
(Left at 8:40 p.m.)
Mr HO Hin-ming, BBS, MH (Left at 8:40 p.m.)
Mr CHO Wui-hung, MH (Left at 4:25 p.m.)
Mr CHEUNG King-fan (Arrived at 2:43 p.m.)
(Left at 8:40 p.m.)
Mr YANG Wing-kit (Left at 8:40 p.m.)
Dr KWONG Po-yin
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Absent: Ms LEUNG Yuen-ting
Secretary: Ms YAU Wing-man,
Olivia
Executive Officer (District Council)
1, Kowloon City District Office
In Attendance: Miss TSE Yik-ching,
Alison
Assistant District Officer (Kowloon
City)
Ms YUE Ka-ka Senior Transport Officer / Housing
Project, Transport Department
Mr CHEUNG Ho-lam,
Marco
Transport Officer / Kowloon City,
Transport Department
Mr MACK Ting-kai Engineer / Hung Hom, Transport
Department
Ms LUK Nga-yee,
Christine
Engineer / Kowloon City, Transport
Department
Mr CHUNG Siu-man District Engineer / Kowloon City
and Kowloon Bay, Highways
Department
Mr YIP Yuk-tsang District Engineer / Hung Hom,
Highways Department
Mr HO Chi-kin Officer-in-charge, Traffic Team (Sau
Mau Ping), Hong Kong Police Force
Mr PO Yiu-wa Officer-in-charge, Traffic Team
(Kowloon City), Hong Kong Police
Force
Attendance by Invitation:
Item 2 and 33 Mr KO Tin-lai Assistant Public Relations Manager
(External Affairs)
MTR Corporation Limited
Item 5, 6, 9-17 Ms LAW Lai-yi Operation Officer (Kowloon City
District), Hong Kong Police Force
Item 7 Ms YAU Kit-yu, Ada Engineer / Kowloon (Housing and
Planning 2), Transport Department
Mr WONG Chun-wai Operation Officer (Sau Mau Ping
District), Hong Kong Police Force
Item 18-19 Mr LEUNG Kan-yan, Ken Senior Executive Officer / Driving
Test 1, Transport Department
Mr CHAK Ka-lin Senior Driving Examiner, Transport
Department
Item 23-28 Mr FU Ting-hong, Derek Senior Transport Officer / Bus
Development (Kowloon), Transport
Department
Mr LEE Sui-kit, Donald Transport Officer / Bus
Development (Kowloon), Transport
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* * *
The Chairman of the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) welcomed
Members, representatives of government departments and organisations to the meeting.
The Chairman then reminded Members to declare interests in accordance with the
Kowloon City District Council Standing Orders (Standing Orders). He also said that
if and when the number of Members present at the meeting was less than 13, he would
adjourn the meeting according to the Standing Orders. Lastly, he reminded attendees
to turn off the ringers on their mobile phones or switch them to vibration mode, and
remain silent during the meeting.
Discussion Items
Establishment of Working Groups under TTC and Relevant Arrangements
(Paper No. 01/20)
2. The Secretary introduced Paper No. 01/20.
3. The Chairman said that there were only 11 Members present at the moment
and the quorum was not reached. He instructed the Secretary to ask Members to return
to the conference room as soon as possible.
Department
Mr WONG Yue-ting Manager (Operations), Kowloon
Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd.
Mr Jeff TAM Manager (Public Affairs), Kowloon
Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd.
Ms WONG Sau-kuen Assistant Manager (Planning and
Development), Kowloon Motor Bus
Co. (1933) Ltd.
Mr Simon WONG Planning and Scheduling Manager,
Citybus Limited / New World First
Bus Services Limited
Ms Joyce WAN Assistant Public Affairs Manager,
Citybus Limited / New World First
Bus Services Limited
Mr Calvin WONG Chief Planning Officer, Citybus
Limited / New World First Bus
Services Limited
Item 29 Mr CHE Kin-wong, Eric Chief Transport Officer / Special
Duties
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4. The Chairman stated that a quorum was now present, and thus, the meeting
resumed.
5. Mr SIU Leong-sing pointed out that KCDC used to form a working group
on the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) and the Kwun Tong Line Extension matters. As
it was foreseeable that there would be a pile of workloads related to the railways in the
district, he suggested setting up a working group under TTC to handle railway-related
issues.
6. Mr PUN Kwok-wah expressed that even though the impacts brought by
tourist coaches on the district were relieved due to the epidemic, the problem might re-
emerge once the epidemic was over. He hoped to form a working group on concern
about the impacts of tourist coaches on the district.
7. Mr SIU Leong-sing concurred that tourist coaches in the district caused
serious problems and this was related to tourism. He proposed to set up a relevant
working group under the Kowloon City District Council.
8. Mr LAI Kwong-wai said that the issue was discussed before in the Working
Group on Concern about the Problems Caused by Coaches in the District, but the scope
of discussion was limited to the problem caused by tourist coaches, while, as a matter
of fact, the issue concerned the influence of tourism on the community. Hence, he
agreed to form a working group on concern about the influence of tourism on the
community under KCDC.
9. Mr PUN Kwok-wah remarked that the items to be discussed in a working
group under KCDC was different from that in a working group under TTC. He also
noticed that the discussion items in this meeting were mostly related to the problem of
illegal parking. Thus, he suggested to set up a working group on concern about the
illegal parking issues.
10. The Chairman announced that he had received the suggestions of forming
three working groups under TTC, including a working group on matters relating to
railways, a working group on concern over the problems of tourist coaches and a
working group on concern over illegal parking in Kowloon City District. The
Chairman would like to ask Mr PUN Kwok-wah and Mr SIU Leong-sing if the
suggested working groups were standing or non-standing bodies, and discuss the details
of the working groups to reach a consensus in order to cope with these issues.
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11. Mr SIU Leong-sing suggested establishing the Working Group on Matters
Relating to Railways and set it as a standing working group, as people would still be
concerned about the service and quality of the railway system after the commissioning
of SCL.
12. The Chairman confirmed with Mr SIU Leong-sing that this working group
would not only cover railway projects, but also matters related to the whole railway
system. As Mr PUN Kwok-wah was not present at the moment, he moved on to
discuss the establishment of a working group on matters relating to railways first.
After consulting Members, he announced that as there were no objection, the
establishment of the standing “Working Group on Matters Relating to Railways” under
TTC was passed unanimously.
13. Mr PUN Kwon-wah proposed to establish the Working Group on Concern
about Illegal Parking in Kowloon City District and set it as a standing working group.
He pointed out that as TTC often discussed the illegal parking issues in the district
before, he would like to review if there was any inadequacy in the policies of the
Government or relevant measures of departments. He hoped to improve the policies
like providing more parking spaces and stepping up enforcement actions in order to cut
down cases of illegal parking in the district.
14. The Chairman said that as certain members suggested setting up a working
group on tourism under KCDC, he proposed to wait until the decision of forming a
relevant working group or not was made in the meeting of KCDC first. TTC would
then decide whether a working group on tourist coaches should be set up under TTC.
15. Mr HO Hin-ming voiced that a working group should be formed under the
relevant committee instead of KCDC. Therefore, a working group related to tourist
coaches should be formed under TTC.
16. The Chairman pointed out that according to Order 40 (1) of the Standing
Orders, the District Council and each committee should appoint no more than three
“standing working groups” at a time, therefore working groups could be set up under
KCDC instead. Besides, the Chairman proposed to name the working group on the
illegal parking issues suggested by Mr PUN Kwok-wah as “Working Group on Concern
over Illegal Parking in Kowloon City District” and set it as a standing working group
under TTC. He asked Members if any objection was raised.
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17. Mr HO Hin-ming expressed that the working group, apart from covering
illegal parking issues, should also study the reasons behind like if these were attributed
to an insufficiency in parking spaces in the district. Thus, he suggested naming the
working group as “Working Group on Insufficient Parking Spaces and Illegal Parking
Issues”.
18. Mr YANG Wing-kit enquired if the Working Group on the Shatin to Central
Link would be retained and stated that he had clearly pointed out the reasons why this
working group should be kept. Furthermore, he said that there was no need to wait
until the decision of forming the working group was made in the meeting of KCDC as
the nature of the working group remained unchanged whether it was formed under
KCDC or TTC. As not many Members objected to the decision, he suggested forming
the relevant working group under TTC.
19. The Chairman replied that the establishment of the Working Group on
Matters Relating to Railways was approved by the Committee earlier on. Although
the detailed terms of reference were to be discussed in the first meeting of the working
group, SCL should be covered as it was part of the railway system. As for the working
group on tourist coaches / tourism, some members opined that a working group that
focused on the problems of tourist coaches should be set up under TTC while some
thought that a working group on the impacts of tourism on the district community
should be formed directly under KCDC. He advised TTC to wait for the decision of
Members in the meeting of KCDC and take follow-up actions afterwards to avoid
overlapping of the terms of reference of two working groups. In addition, in response
to the suggestion of Mr HO Hin-ming, the Chairman proposed to rename the working
group on illegal parking issues as “Working Group on Concern over Illegal Parking and
Related Matters in Kowloon City District”. He also expressed that the handling of the
problems of insufficient parking spaces could be added into the terms of reference of
the working group and asked Members if any objection was raised.
20. Mr HO Hin-ming remarked that tourist coaches could be used as school
buses and staff shuttle buses apart from being used by people in the tourism industry.
Therefore, the working group should focus on all aspects instead of tourism only.
21. Mr PUN Kwok-wah suggested renaming “Working Group on Matters
Relating to Railways” to “Working Group on Concern over Matters Relating to
Railways in Kowloon City District”.
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22. Mr LAI Kwong-wai expressed that most of the discussions in the Working
Group on Concern about the Problems Caused by Coaches in the District were based
on the impacts brought by coaches serving tourists. Hence, he agreed that the
problems of tourist coaches should be discussed in the working group on tourism. The
working group could also talk about the overall impacts brought by tour groups,
including the obstruction of pavements and the environmental hygiene problems. He
added that the matters related to students and other tourist coach users could be
discussed in TTC.
23. The Chairman noted that the establishment of the Working Group on
Matters Relating to Railways was approved by the Committee earlier in the meeting
and Mr PUN Kwok-wah’s suggestion could be considered with decision made while
discussing the terms of reference of the working group. As there was no objection to
the establishment of a working group on illegal parking issues, he announced the
approval for forming “Working Group on Concern over Illegal Parking and Related
Matters in Kowloon City District” as a standing working group under TTC. Since
Members held different views on forming a working group on matters related to tourist
coaches or tourism, the Chairman asked Members if the matter should be put to a vote
or if the Committee should follow up on it after the discussion of forming a relevant
working group in the meeting of KCDC. He remarked that as each committee should
appoint no more than three “standing working groups” at a time, the Committee could
form relevant working groups in the future as and when necessary.
24. Mr HO Hin-ming stated that according to Mr LAI Kwong-wai, there could
be two working groups formed, one of which would be under KCDC which focused on
the impacts of tourism and tourist coaches, while another one would be under TTC
which focused on problems generated by school buses and staff shuttle buses. He
enquired if it was necessary to set up two working groups.
25. Mr LAI Kwong-wai clarified that he did not suggest setting up a working
group on matters related to tourist coaches in the district under both KCDC and TTC,
he only suggested that if Mr HO Hin-ming was worried that the working group on
tourism issues under KCDC would not handle problems brought by other tourist coach
users, could be discussed the matters in the meeting of TTC.
26. Mr HO Hin-ming responded that they were already discussing the matter of
forming the working group on tourist coaches under TTC at the moment. If TTC
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rejected the establishment of the working group, it implied what Mr LAI Kwong-wai
said was unsound and related matters would not be discussed in TTC in the future.
27. Mr Pius YUM asked Mr HO Hin-ming not to assume the thinking of others
said as no Members ever mentioned anything about “rejection” and Mr LAI Kwong-
wai had expressed his views clearly as well.
28. The Chairman opined that as some Members expressed that they would
suggest forming a working group on concern over the impacts of tourism in the district
on the community in the meeting of KCDC, he suggested that TTC would follow up
after the discussion in the KCDC meeting. If Mr HO Hin-ming insisted on forming
the Working Group on Concern over the Problems Caused by Coaches in the District
under TTC, the Committee could also put this matter to a vote.
29. Mr SIU Leong-sing pointed out that the purpose of forming “Working
Group on Concern about the Problems Caused by Coaches in the District” in the
previous term of TTC was to tackle the problems caused by coaches used by members
from the tourism industry. He requested the provision of the terms of reference of the
working group to Members for reference.
30. The Chairman said that the terms of reference of the working group were
shown on the screen for Members’ reference.
31. Mr HO Hin-ming expressed that when forming “Working Group on Matters
Relating to Railways” earlier on, the Chairman said that the terms of reference of the
working group would be discussed during the first meeting, yet he now asked Members
to take the terms of reference of this working group as reference. He opined that the
Chairman was acting in a self-contradictory manner and requested him to be fair and to
maintain the usual practices. The terms of reference of “Working Group on Concern
over the Problems Caused by Tourist Coaches in the District” should be discussed
during the first meeting of the working group.
32. Dr KWONG Po-yin pointed out that Mr SIU Leong-sing had clearly stated
that as the terms of reference of the Working Group on Concern about the Problems
Caused by Coaches in the District under the previous term of TTC was mainly to handle
the problems caused by coaches used by members of the tourism industry. And the
Committee was currently discussing whether they should continue to retain the working
group and therefore relevant terms of reference should be shown to Members. As for
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the problem brought by tourist coaches serving other purposes like school buses or staff
buses, she believed that it could be handled in TTC meetings.
33. Mr YANG Wing-kit concurred with Mr HO Hin-ming’s opinion. He
viewed that the Chairman must be consistent in making decisions and should not take
a different approach to deal with the matters concerning a particular working group.
He had no comments on whether the working group on tourist coach problems should
be formed under KCDC or TTC and thought that there was no difference in handling
such matters under KCDC or TTC as working groups under KCDC would not have
more authority or gain more respect. Hence, he saw no point to argue over this matter.
He suggested forming the relevant working group under TTC.
34. Mr Pius YUM proposed to set up the working group on concern over tourist
coach problems under KCDC in order to evaluate the problems brought by tourist
coaches in a broader perspective.
35. Mr HO Hin-ming expressed that as some Members suggested forming a
working group under TTC, the discussion of the matter should be prioritised. If the
Committee decided not to set up a working group, the suggestion of forming it could
be considered in the meeting of KCDC. It was not appropriate to discuss the
establishment of a working group under KCDC in this meeting.
36. Miss Jakki MAK agreed with the suggestions of other Members and thought
that forming a working group under KCDC allowed Members to look into problems
posed by tourism industry other than these caused by tourist coaches. Setting up
working groups related to tourist coaches and tourism under TTC and KCDC
respectively would lead to an overlapping of the terms of reference. Thus, she
believed that the Committee should wait for the conclusion from KCDC about forming
a working group related to tourism first and then discuss whether a working group on
concern about tourist coaches should be formed in the meeting of TTC.
37. Mr HO Hin-ming referred to the rules of discussion and pointed out that as
the discussion of the meeting should focus on traffic and transport matters, Members
should not talk about forming a working group on tourism in this meeting.
38. The Chairman commented that the statement made by Miss Jakki MAK
was related to whether TTC should form a working group on tourist coach problems.
Her point of concern was that if a more general working group on concern about tourism
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issues was set up under KCDC, its terms of reference might overlap with those of the
working group on concern about tourist coach problems under TTC. Therefore, he
ruled that Miss Jakki MAK’s speech followed the rules of discussion.
39. Mr MA Hei-pang opined that when talking about the impacts of tourism,
the Committee would also discuss its impacts on the traffic and transport in the district,
effects on the use of pavements and problems of environmental hygiene and
unscrupulous trade practices. Therefore, it was more appropriate to discuss the
relevant matters in a working group under KCDC instead of the one under TTC.
40. Mr LAI Kwong-wai reiterated that the major difference between forming a
working group under KCDC or under TTC was the problems covered by the terms of
reference. For example, if the working group was formed under KCDC, Members
would study more problems brought by tourism in the district including noise and
environmental hygiene problems, as the terms of reference dealt with a broader scope
of matters. He asked the Secretary that if the establishment of a working group on
tourist coach problems was passed during this TTC meeting and then a working group
on tourism was formed under KCDC with the terms of reference covering the problem
of tourist coaches, the former working group would be cancelled or not.
41. The Secretary replied that the working group on tourist coach problems
under TTC would mainly discuss matters related to traffic and transport. If the
working group was formed under KCDC, it might cover problems of tourism that were
unrelated to traffic. There were no limits on the number of meetings or sessions for
standing working groups under a Committee. Working groups could convene
meetings when necessary and if Members believed that the objectives of the working
group was achieved, they could decide whether it was necessary to conclude the work
of working group.
42. Mr YANG Wing-kit did not raise specific views on whether the working
group should be formed under KCDC or TTC, but he remarked that the problem of
tourists accounted for most of the impact on the traffic, so it was best discussed under
TTC. Members would talk about problems related to pavements and environmental
hygiene in the past and he did not want to waste time on discussing this matter. He
added that other traffic related problems like SCL or illegal parking issues could be
discussed in a wider perspective but the core problem was still about traffic. Therefore,
he hoped that other Members wouldn’t request to form the working group under KCDC
on the ground of widening the scope of discussion.
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43. Mr HO Hin-ming said that they should shift the focus from tourist coaches
to private buses as the working group mainly talked about the impacts of private buses
on the traffic in the district. With this change, Members could consider all problems
caused by private bus users.
44. Mr Pius YUM asked the Secretary to take note of the number of speeches
made by Members as some Members had already spoken for multiple times. Since
there was a motion about censuring the Chairman in this meeting, he did not want the
Chairman to be accused of being inconsistent when dealing with the issue related to
the number of speeches made by Members. In addition, as Members could not reach
a consensus on forming a working group on tourist coaches or not, he asked the
Chairman to take a vote or carry the item over to the next meeting so that other items
would not be affected when Members spoke overtime.
45. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu stated that as he checked Paper No. 05/18 in the
discussion papers of the working group on tourist coaches under the previous term of
TTC, he found that it covered not only the illegal parking problems of tourist coaches,
but also the issue about the quota of mainland tour groups. It showed that the
Chairman of the working group at that time allowed the discussion about topics beyond
its terms of reference and it was meaningless for Members to argue over it. Therefore,
he did not have any objection to the establishment of a working group under KCDC or
TTC. He added that unless the Chairman of the current term of the working group
held the discussion in strict accordance with the terms of reference, otherwise he
suggested forming the working group under TTC to avoid wastage of time.
46. Mr CHO Wui-hung did not have any objection to the establishment of the
working group under KCDC or TTC. Due to the epidemic and social issues, he
believed that Hong Kong’s tourism would not be flourishing in the coming future.
Therefore, he was open to including the problem of illegal parking in the district in the
name of the working group or merging the two working groups into one. Moreover,
he agreed to save time and advised the Chairman to put this matter to vote.
47. The Chairman said that Members had fully expressed their views on setting
up the working group on tourist coaches and suggested to vote on keeping the working
group on concern about the problems caused by coaches in the district.
48. After the voting was done, the Chairman announced that the majority of
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Members agreed to set up “Working Group on Concern over the Problems Caused by
Tourist Coaches in the District” under TTC. He instructed the Secretariat to issue a
letter to invite members to join the three aforementioned working groups after the
meeting. He also set the date of the first meeting and stated that the working group
would elect the Chairman and lay down the terms of reference.
(Post-meeting notes: The Secretariat had issued a letter to invite Members to join the
three working groups under TTC on 14 April 2020.)
Request for Installing Paid Passageway Validators at Whampoa MTR Station
(Paper No. 02/20)
Strong Request to the Government for Providing Free Feeder Services to Ho Man
Tin MTR Station or Whampoa MTR Station
(Paper No. 03/20)
49. Mr YANG Wing-kit said that as Paper No. 26/20 was related to Paper No.
02/20 and 03/20, they should be discussed together.
50. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu expressed that he raised three agenda items in Paper
No. 26/20, one of which was related to Paper No. 02/20 and 03/20. Therefore, he did
not have any objection to discussing the papers together and would like the Chairman
to make the decision.
51. The Chairman decided to discuss Paper No. 02/20 and 03/20 together as
Paper No. 26/20 was related to the services of the bus companies while the
representatives of the Transport Department (TD) and bus companies had not arrived
yet.
52. Dr KWAN Ka-lun introduced Paper No. 02/20.
53 Mr YANG Wing-kit introduced Paper No. 03/20.
54. Mr HO Hin-ming said that the station facilities and system of the MTR
Corporation Limited (MTRCL) were previously vandalised. He enquired about the
repair progress of the facilities and was worried that it would hinder MTRCL from
providing other services.
55. Mr KO Tin-lai, Assistant Public Relations Manager of MTRCL, replied
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as follows:
(i) according to Paper No. 02/20, there were two separate concourses in
Whampoa Station. It was understandable that Members requested
to install Paid Passageway Validators with reference to Mei Foo
Station to bring convenience to people;
(ii) as Mei Foo Station was the interchange station between West Rail
Line and Tsuen Wan Line and the unpaid areas of both lines were not
wholly connected, MTRCL installed two “Paid Passageway
Validators” in the paid area of West Rail Line as a trial. By tapping
their Octopus Card, passengers could access the paid area of the
station for free within 20 minutes after entering the gate, which meant
that they could travel between every exit of Mei Foo Station without
entering the platforms;
(iii) MTRCL regarded safety as the prime consideration when it came to
perfecting network equipment and upgrading station facilities. For
example, the Company would consider the passengers’ flow in
stations as a whole and appropriate arrangements to evacuate
passengers in an emergency, especially at places like platforms.
According to the current observation, the access facilities in
Whampoa Station could fulfill the need of passengers. MTRCL had
been endeavouring to study and would keep paying attention to the
usage and operation of the current Paid Passageway Validators while
listening to various opinions of the community;
(iv) according to Paper No. 03/20, Tuen Ma Line (TML) Phase 1 opened
on 14 February 2020 and it was the extension of Ma On Shan Line to
connect to Kowloon East. Starting from the day of opening to the
full commissioning of TML, MTRCL had been offering special fare
concessions to encourage more passengers to use the new railway line;
(v) in response to the request for providing free feeder buses, MTRCL
would proactively support relevant government departments to
review ways to provide convenience to residents in the district in
coordination with other road-based public transport. MTRCL did
not have any plan on providing free feeder services at this stage but
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the company had launched special interchange discounts jointly with
green minibus (GMB) and franchised bus operators so as to benefit
people living out of the catchment area of TML Phase 1. During the
promotion period, adult holders of Octopus Card could enjoy a $1
fare discount when interchanging from designated MTR stations to
the four designated GMB and 18 franchised bus routes, while other
Octopus Card users could enjoy a $0.5 fare discount. Adult Octopus
Card users could also save $1 when travelling to other MTR stations
by entering or exiting at Hin Keng Station and Kai Tak Station while
other users of Octopus Card could save $0.5. The two promotions
would last until the full commissioning of TML; and
(vi) project teams of MTRCL had been working hard to repair station
facilities and monitor the situation at every station. MTRCL held
safety as the main concern when installing different equipment, and
would also study factors like passenger flow and design of different
stations.
56. The Hon Starry LEE expressed deep disappointment over MTRCL’s reply
of not considering providing free feeder buses or other feeder services to residents of
To Kwa Wan. She believed that if MTRCL performed well in supervising the SCL
project, the line would have been fully commissioned by now and residents of To Kwa
Wan could have enjoyed the services as well. She requested MTRCL to make a fair
consideration and provide free interchange discounts or feeder buses to residents who
could not enjoy railway services due to the delay in commissioning, so that residents
could access the railway networks nearby as soon as possible. She also asked MTRCL
to reconsider the suggestion and explain why the provision of free feeder buses was
infeasible.
57. Mr Pius YUM remarked that residents would ask him how to get to Exit C
and D of Whampoa Station from Tak Man Street occasionally. It was obvious that
residents picked the wrong exit and needed to return to another exit of the station. He
asked MTRCL to improve and enhance the instruction of directions at the station
platform.
58. Mr YANG Wing-kit pointed out that the $1 interchange discount was more
of a trade practice to attract passengers than a compensation for the affected residents.
He believed that the Government and MTRCL should be held liable for the improper
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supervision on the SCL project and consider to expand the concession scheme by
providing free interchange. He remarked that even with the provision of this offer,
MTRCL could still earn profits.
59. Mr HO Hin-ming stated that the negligence of MTRCL led to the delay
of the full commissioning of TML and therefore they had the responsibility to provide
free feeder services to the affected residents. Besides, he believed that the amount of
interchange concession for some green buses was too small and requested MTRCL to
standardise the amount of interchange concession.
60. Dr KWONG Po-yin recalled that she had suggested to install “Paid
Passageway Validators” at Whampoa Station in the previous term of KCDC and
MTRCL then replied that they needed to take the experience in Mei Foo Station into
account first. She understood that the space in Whampoa Station was relatively
limited and MTRCL might need to give more consideration to crowd dispersal while
resolving the difficulties passengers faced when using the service. She added that if
MTRCL was worried about passengers staying at the station for too long after installing
the validators, they could consider shortening the free access period. In addition, the
instructions in Whampoa station were not clear and there were no Station Assistants to
offer help in the concourse of Exit A and B. Passengers could only check the map
after exiting the gate. These were considered as arrangement loopholes and the needs
of passengers could not be addressed. She believed that MTRCL cared about the
travel experience of passengers and hoped that they reconsidered installing “Paid
Passageway Validators” at Whampoa Station and other mega stations and placing the
map at a better position inside the station.
61. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL replied as follows:
(i) MTRCL had always attached importance to the travel experience
of passengers. He thanked Dr KWAN Ka-lun and Dr KWONG
Po-yin for their understanding but MTRCL needed to carefully
consider the influence on the safety of the station and train
operations after installing “Paid Passageway Validators” at
Whampoa Station. Due to the unique design of Whampoa
Station, the two separate concourses could only be connected
through the platform and thus the platform was pivotal. MTRCL
must cautiously examine the feasibility of installing “Paid
Passageway Validators” for trial run on the condition that station
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safety, crowd safety and the normal operation of the platform
remained unaffected;
(ii) he would pass the opinions on the problems of passengers mixing
up exits of Whampoa Station and the placement of the map to the
relevant department with regard to the prevailing situations in
order to improve the travel experience of passengers. He would
also explain the follow-up work to the members concerned at an
appropriate time. As the exits of Whampoa Station were close to
each other, passengers could use the at-grade crossing to get into
or out of the exits; and
(iii) MTRCL would spare no efforts to complete the remaining works
of TML. Although the Company had no plans of providing
feeder buses at this stage, he would relay Members’ suggestions
about the interchange concession to the relevant department of
MTRCL as the Company wished to make available different fare
concession schemes for passengers.
62. The Hon Starry LEE requested TD to urge MTRCL to reconsider
providing free feeder services to residents of To Kwa Wan area. She also asked the
Company to reply to the members concerned after considering Members’ suggestions
about the interchange concession.
63. Ms YUE Ka-ka, Senior Transport Officer / Housing Project of TD
remarked that MTRCL had provided interchange discounts to 18 franchised bus and
four GMB routes in order to tie in with the commissioning of TML Phase 1, most of
which would pass through Ho Man Tin Station and Whampoa Station. Although the
provision of relevant discounts was a commercial decision, the Department welcomed
MTRCL’s provision of more discounts to the public and would continue the discussion
with MTRCL.
64. The Hon Starry LEE reiterated that she requested TD to urge MTRCL
to provide free feeder services instead of welcoming MTRCL’s provision of more
discounts to the public. She stated that TD and MTRCL had the responsibility to
compensate residents and respond to their humble requests.
65. Ms YUE Ka-ka of TD responded that she would relay the opinions to the
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colleagues of the relevant section for follow-up actions with MTRCL.
66. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL expressed understanding of Members
requests and would refer them to the relevant department of the Company for
consideration.
67. The Hon Starry LEE stated that it was an irresponsible act of MTRCL
not to undertake to reply to the members concerned after reconsidering the suggestions.
68. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL said that they would reply after taking the
suggestions into consideration.
69. Mr PUN Kwok-wah expressed disappointment to the replies of MTRCL
and TD. He was anxious that the suggestions might end up getting ignored. He
hoped MTRCL would consider enhancing the amount of interchange concession to $3
or $4 as a compensation for the affected residents.
70. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL replied that he would relay the opinions to
the relevant department and would give a consolidated reply when responding to the
suggestions of The Hon Starry LEE.
Request to Transport Department (TD) for Giving an Account of the TD Song
(Paper No. 04/20)
71. Mr Joshua FUNG presented Paper No. 04/20.
72. Mr YANG Wing-kit said that he did not mind having multiple versions
of the song in different languages like Cantonese, English or Chiu Chow Dialect.
According to his understanding, the language used in a song needed to match the
melody and lyrics. For a song to receive publicity, the ability to arouse resonance
instead of the number of its versions was crucial.
73. Ms YUE Ka-ka noted that the TD Song was created by staff members of
TD when participating the departmental amateur composition competition over 20
years ago. There was only a Putonghua version when the song was created and
participants were required to record the song at their own cost without using
government funds. The lyrics of the TD Song would be translated into English later
for public inspection so that the public could be better informed about the vision,
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mission and values of the Department.
74. Mr Joshua FUNG inquired whether TD would organise the amateur
composition competition annually. Also, given that the song was produced over 20
years ago, he would like to know if the Department would release an updated version
of the song.
75. Ms YUE Ka-ka of TD replied that the competition was a one-off
competition over 20 years ago instead of an annual event and thus the Department had
no plans of releasing an updated version of the song.
Request to the Police for Making Public the List of Places Targetted for
Enforcement against Illegal Parking in Kowloon City and Accounting for the
Details about the Action Taken
(Paper No. 05/20)
76. Mr Joshua FUNG introduced Paper No. 05/20.
77. Mr PO Yiu-wa, Officer-in-charge of the Traffic Team (Kowloon City)
of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) pointed out that the Police would deploy
manpower as appropriate according to the priorities of the traffic conditions in the
district including the number of school buses during school days, tourist coach
movements that often appeared at noon in the past, and traffic regulation and diversion
works due to major infrastructure projects. Therefore, no list of priority locations for
actions against illegal parking was drafted.
78. Mr Joshua FUNG hoped that the Police could discuss with the relevant
section and make a list of priority locations for actions taken against illegal parking, so
that Members could gain a deeper understanding of the number of black spot targeted
by the Police in the district and understand if the Police was faced with manpower
shortage or other problems. Members could then discuss and propose other related
suggestions.
79. Mr HO Hin-ming remarked that he received a large amount of
complaints from vehicle owners and drivers about the frequent issue of penalty tickets
by the Police recently. Due to the social movements a few months ago and the recent
epidemic, legitimate parking spaces were occupied by a large amount of commercial
vehicles that were not in operation for an extended period of time. Due to the shortage
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of parking spaces, private car owners had no alternative but to park at other places
illegally in streets. As the Police abided by the procedures of enforcing their duties,
grievances of private car owners grew and therefore, they asked the Police to show
clemency when enforcing the law. Besides, he hoped that the Police would not be
selective in taking law enforcement. He reflected many times that there were frequent
cases of illegal parking in Broadcast Drive outside the Radio Television Hong Kong
Television House but penalty tickets were rarely issued. However, the Police issued
two to three tickets to vehicles parked illegally at different locations of the street in one
day. He urged the Police to take follow-up actions.
80. Dr KWONG Po-yin expressed that the problem was not simply about
illegal parking, in fact law enforcement officers could hardly be reached when vehicles
were parked at crossing places which affected residents’ access. She asked the Police
to discuss with relevant departments on how to step up enforcement actions and reduce
the number of vehicles in order to improve the situation. Besides, it was difficult to
seek assistance from the Police in taking enforcement actions at the moment. There
were cases that the Police did not send officers for enforcement actions after being
contacted or asked Members to call the Traffic Report Room directly. As these cases
happened very late at night and the Traffic Report Room might not operate round-the-
clock, the problems could not be resolved immediately. She added that the number of
enforcement actions taken as stated in the Police’s written reply did not tally with the
actual data, so she asked the Police to make an explanation on the situation.
81. Mr WONG Wing-kit wished the Police to make a list of priority
locations for actions against illegal parking according to the seriousness of illegal
parking and the number of penalty tickets issued. Moreover, the illegal parking black
spots named out by Members should be added so that Members could participate in the
coordination work for solving the problem, and thus matched the three “E” approach of
the Police.
82. Mr LAI Kwong-wai agreed that the Police should make a list of priority
locations for actions against illegal parking. He pointed out that the illegal parking
black spots of tourist coaches were recorded in the Road Safety Charter of the Police in
the past, so there should be an internal list of prime locations of illegal parking spots
for private cars and commercial vehicles. He hoped that the Police could provide the
list and add to it the black spots suggested by Members. In addition, he enquired
whether the Engagement in the three “E” approach meant that the public was
encouraged to make an initiative to report cases of illegal parking.
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83. Miss Jakki MAK hoped that the Police could share the list of prime
locations for actions against illegal parking so that Members would be informed of the
illegal parking black spots in the district and provide black spots that were not on the
list to the Police. As the problem of illegal street racing mainly happened during early
hours, he requested the Police to provide an overnight contact information for
immediate follow-up actions.
84. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF responded as follows:
(i) Members’ request for making a list of prime locations for actions
against illegal parking was noted. Kowloon City Police District was
currently carrying out law enforcement actions on a divisional basis
under which the district was divided into smaller divisions. In each
division, a dedicated task force would handle the traffic problems in
the district and study the reasons that led to illegal parking in the
district and the problems generated in order to make appropriate
arrangements. He would report Members’ suggestion to the Police
management and reply to Members later;
(ii) the Police took note of the illegal parking problem in Broadcast Drive
and would apply the same enforcement standards on regular or
mobile vehicles. The opinion voiced by Mr HO Hin-ming was
noted and the Police would carry out consistent enforcement actions;
and
(iii) for the reports on suspected cases of illegal street racing during early
hours, he remarked that the Traffic Kowloon West operated 24 hours
a day. The general public could make a report to any police station
on telephone and provide necessary details. Upon receiving the
complaint, staff from HKPF would refer the case to the Traffic Report
Room and deploy officers to take action at the scene.
85. Mr Pius YUM suggested the Secretariat to collect lists of illegal black spots
in the district from Members after the meeting in order to refer them to the Police for
discussion with the management and report relevant information at the forthcoming
meetings.
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86. Mr Daniel WONG opined that it was reasonable for the Police to divide
Kowloon City District into smaller areas like commercial areas and school areas for
handling as appropriate. The Police had the discretion to carry out law enforcement
actions against illegal parking depending on the situation. As restaurants in Lung
Shing District were deserted under the prevailing epidemic, he believed that if the
Police exercised discretion to allow car owners to park their cars outside restaurants
when having meal, the business performance of restaurants could be slightly improved.
He hoped that the Police could take all circumstances into consideration and exercise
discretion in enforcement. He also expressed gratitude to the Police and hoped that
they could ride out the difficult times with the public.
87. Mr LAI Kwong-wai enquired about the details of Engagement in the three
“E” approach again and asked if it meant that the public was encouraged to take the
initiative to report cases of illegal parking or if it meant something else.
88. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF thanked Mr Daniel WONG for his recognition
and suggestions, and said that the Police would exercise discretion and make necessary
arrangements in cases of commercial vehicles spending short time to handle loading
and unloading activities of commercial vehicles. In relation to Mr LAI Kwong-wai’s
enquiry about the Police’s long-time three “E” approach in Kowloon City District, he
replied that the “Engagement” approach was similar to the implementation of the Road
Safety Charter in the past, say, the Police would discuss with coach drivers, coach
operators, shop operators and members from the tourism industry in order to make sure
that they would take up social responsibilities and maintain road order while doing
business. In addition, the Police had already held meetings with the funeral trade,
drivers and related parties and talked about the improvement measures in response to
the illegal parking of vehicles of funeral parlours in Hung Hom District.
89. Mr Pius YUM asked the Police to respond to the suggestion about Members’
report of illegal parking black spots.
90. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF said that the Police welcomed the suggestions as
they could be a reference for them to combat against the problem of illegal parking.
91. The Chairman instructed the Secretariat to follow up on the collection of
illegal parking black spots suggested by Members.
(Post-meeting notes: The Secretariat had issued a letter to Members to collect
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information about illegal parking black spots in the district on 26 March.)
Request for Curbing the Problem of Illegal Parking in Lung Shing District to
Spare the Residents from the Disturbance Caused by Traffic Jams and Horn
Blasting Constantly
(Paper No. 06/20)
92. Mr NG Po-keung introduced Paper No. 06/20.
93. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF pointed out that even though the junction of
Carpenter Road and Sa Po Road was under the jurisdiction of Wong Tai Sin Police
District, the traffic team of Kowloon City District was given the authority to take law
enforcement actions at places slightly beyond their police district. As officers from
Wong Tai Sin Police District might also issue penalty tickets at that particular road
section, the actual number of penalty tickets at the location could not be provided at the
moment. The Police could only report the total amount of penalty ickets of Lung
Shing District first in the written reply. In addition, Kowloon City Police District
would conduct electronic prosecution on a trial basis starting from 6 April.
Smartphones and portable printers would be used to enter the data and issue the penalty
ticket immediately in order to save time on issuing tickets and thus expedite the
enforcement work.
94. Ms Christine LUK, Engineer (Kowloon City) of TD replied that after
receiving Members’ opinions, the Department had been considering the feasibility of
setting a no-stopping restriction zone at the junction of Carpenter Road and Sa Po Road.
The Problem of Inadequate Supply of Parking Spaces in Kai Tak New Area
(Paper No. 07/20)
The Problem of Illegal Parking in Kai Tak New Area
(Paper No. 08/20)
95. Mr CHEUNG King-fan introduced Paper No. 07/20 and 08/20.
96. Mr HE Huahan expressed concern on the severe problem of illegal parking
in the vicinity of Kai Tak new area recently, including Muk Hung Street, Muk Chui
Street, Muk On Street, Muk Ning Street, Muk Long Street and Shing Kai Road.
Vehicles were even found parking on pavements. He hoped that the relevant
department would adopt a proactive approach to improve the situation and also put
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forward the following opinions and suggestions:
(i) the Police’s enforcement actions against the problem of illegal
parking recently was inadequate. Although it was reported that the
Police issued over ten thousand penalty tickets in a certain district
within a week, he had yet to see the Police stepping up their
enforcement actions. He understood that the Police was short of
manpower so he suggested including Kai Tak new area into the
Electronic Prosecution Pilot Scheme in order to speed up the process
of ticket issuing;
(ii) he requested TD to reconsider installing metal railings on roads
marked as illegal parking black spots to prevent vehicles from
crossing planters which would pose hazards to pedestrians;
(iii) he asked TD to find temporary sites for setting up temporary car parks
and actively consider opening government properties like the Trade
and Industry Tower and the properties of Electrical and Mechanical
Services Department overnight for residents to park their cars at a fee
so as to help alleviate the problem of illegal parking and increase
government revenue. As a result, a win-win situation would be
achieved; and
(iv) he demanded to add a term about providing a certain amount of
parking spaces into the land sale contracts of Site 1J3, Sports Park,
Inland Revenue Tower and other land sale contracts in the future so
that the parking spaces in the Kai Tak area would be increased.
97. Ms Ada YAU, Engineer / Kowloon (Housing and Planning 2) of TD noted
Members’ concern and said that she had visited Kai Tak new area and inspected the
situation of illegal parking in the district. TD was implementing short and long-term
measures to ease the problem at the moment and had been maintaining close
communication with Kowloon East District Lands Office. At present, a site at Sung
Wong Toi Road was used as a temporary public car park. In addition, TD followed
the principle of “single site, multiple uses” and had embarked on initial discussions on
the feasibility of constructing an underground public car park in the “government,
institution or community facilities" site for development in Shing Kai Road. TD
would support Lands Department’s decision on using Site 1B3 and 1B4 as temporary
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car parks as far as technically permissible. Furthermore, TD had conducted a site visit
with Mr HE Huahan on the installation of metal railings. The Department would
consider the suggestions and conduct consultations when appropriate. As for the
suggestion about opening parking spaces in other government properties for public use,
TD would relay it to the relevant department for their consideration. As TD was not
in charge of the issue, she believed the Secretariat would relay the suggestion to the
relevant department for consideration. (This was to be confirmed)
98. Mr HO Chi-kin, Officer-in-charge of the Traffic Team (Sau Mau Ping)
of HKPF replied that Kai Tak new area was one of the illegal parking black spots Sau
Mau Ping Police District focused on. In the past, the Police tried to place signs and
traffic cones, took stringent enforcement actions against illegal parking and towed away
vehicles. They would continue to step up enforcement actions and institute
prosecutions. In addition, the use of electronic equipment for law enforcement must
be carried out step by step. The police district had not implemented electronic
prosecution but he believed that the plan would be extended to cover it soon. He
hoped that the situation would be improved by then.
99. Mr HE Huahan hoped the Secretariat would relay the suggestion about
opening parking spaces in other government properties for public use to the relevant
government department for follow-up actions.
100. Mr CHEUNG King-fan supplemented that apart from the problem of illegal
parking, there were also quite a number of traffic offences in the district. For example,
residents reflected that motorcycles often drove past the section of the pedestrian
walkway between Kai Long Court and Kai Ching Estate so they hoped the Police would
look into the problem. In addition, certain vehicles would park illegally on the
pavements and damage the surrounding trees and other vegetations, causing the
relevant government department to do the follow-up work. He urged the Police to
step up their enforcement actions and also requested the relevant government
department to study appropriate ways to tackle the problem of illegal parking.
101. Mr HO Chi-kin of HKPF noted Members’ opinions and would monitor the
situation.
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Request for Enlarging the Yellow Grids on Baker Street and Ming On Street to
Improve the Problem of Illegal Parking at the Above Area
(Paper No. 09/20)
Request for Upgrading the Road Surface of and Widening the Yellow Grids on
Taku Street and Bulkeley Street to Improve the Problem of Illegal Parking
(Paper No. 10/20)
Request to the Police for Making Public the Number of Prosecutions Made in Tai
Wan Road in Hung Hom in the Past Six Months and Accounting for the Details
about the Action Taken
(Paper No. 11/20)
102. Mr Pius YUM introduced Paper No. 09/20 and 10/20.
103. Miss CHAU Hei-man presented Paper No. 11/20.
104. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF stated that he noted that the problem of illegal
parking in Tai Wan Road was serious and clarified that one half of the pavements
adjacent to the Tse Sui Luen showroom were private streets while the areas paved with
floor tiles were public places. If the relevant vehicles did not obstruct the traffic, the
Police could not carry out enforcement actions on private streets; however, if vehicles
were parked illegally on pavements or at corresponding roadsides such as the staircase
leading to Man Yue Street and Man Lok Street and posed danger to pedestrians, the
Police would certainly take prosecution actions when complaints were received or such
a situation was identified during patrol. The Police noted Members’ concerns and
would explore improvement measures with TD later.
105. Mr MACK Ting-kai, Engineer / Hung Hom of TD made a consolidated
reply as follows regarding Papers No. 09/20 and 10/20:
(i) according to the Road Traffic Ordinance, yellow grid lines were
generally painted on road junctions. A vehicle must stop in front of
the yellow grids once approaching and could only go forward when
the way was clear. The function of yellow grids was to prevent road
congestion at the junctions caused by static vehicles. Thus,
combatting illegal parking was not the objective of the addition of
yellow grids at present;
(ii) moreover, if the area of the yellow grid lines were enlarged and drivers
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could only go forward when the road was clear, traffic flow would be
reduced. Or if the vehicles in front had not left the yellow grids, the
drivers of the vehicles behind might not notice the enlargement of area
with yellow grids and would violate the regulations by entering the
grids; and
(iii) TD had already demarcated a restriction zone at the junction of Baker
Street and Ming On Street and that of Taku Street and Bulkeley Street.
The Department would review the no-stopping periods of the zone at
the abovementioned location and whether the area of the zone had to
be expanded to prevent drivers from parking illegally.
106. Mr YIP Yuk-tsang, District Engineer / Hung Hom of the Highways
Department (HyD), gave a reply on Paper No. 10/20. He pointed out that the
Department had all along paid heed to the condition of public roads and ancillary road
facilities in the district and was now considering conducting regular maintenance at the
junction of Taku Street and Bulkeley Street. However, as the Water Supplies
Department (WSD) was recently carrying out improvement works to waterworks
installations at road sections adjacent to Bulkeley Street, the Department could not
commence the relevant works temporarily. According to the information, the works
of WSD were expected to be completed at the end of this year. The Department would
discuss the temporary traffic arrangements with the relevant departments timely and
conduct regular road maintenance works as soon as possible upon the completion of
the works of WSD. The Department would continue to closely monitor the condition
of the relevant road surfaces and make temporary repairs timely if road surfaces were
found to be damaged or uneven.
107. Mr Pius YUM’s opinions were as follows:
(i) he requested HyD to pay attention to the photos in Paper No. 10/20.
The colour of the crossing places shown on the upper right corner had
become different owing to the previous works. Since large buses
always drove past the relevant road section and the road surfaces were
obviously rugged, he wished that HyD could deploy staff to conduct
site visits and undertake temporary improvement and maintenance
works if necessary; and
(ii) he expressed understanding of the usage of yellow grids presented by
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TD but he hoped that the Department could also give a response on the
number of prosecutions made by the Police and the situation of illegal
parking as seen by residents. From the photos in Paper No. 10/20,
trucks were illegally parked at the abovementioned location in the
morning, obstructing large public buses to turn. Though the bus
company identified the problem and erected plastic boards at both
sides of the pavement at the abovementioned location temporarily, the
situation had not improved. The same thing happened at Baker Street
where illegally parked vehicles blocked green minibuses. Thus, he
wished that the Police could incorporate the abovementioned locations
into the list of illegal parking blackspots for targeted actions and
requested TD to propose improvement measures on road design.
108. Mr LAM Tak-shing said that he had reflected the problem of illegal parking
at the abovementioned locations and in nearby streets including Taku Street, Marsh
Street, Kun Yam Street and Baker Street to TD and the Police several times in the past.
Regrettably, TD had not adopted any effective improvement measures so far and the
problems of traffic congestion and illegal parking persisted. Thus, he requested TD
to increase the number of directional signs and consider marking double yellow lines
or introducing loading / unloading restrictions at turns since large tourist coaches, trucks
and private vehicles always parked at the abovementioned locations for a long time,
which led to traffic congestion and frequent blasting of car horns by vehicles passing
by, bringing nuisances to nearby residents. He requested TD to draw up concrete
proposals ensuring the safety of residents and addressing the problem of traffic
congestion. He also demanded the Police to list the abovementioned locations as
traffic blackspots. In addition, he had reflected the problem of uneven road surfaces
of Taku Street to HyD several times but HyD had only made minor repairs at certain
locations. Thus, he requested HyD to carry out full resurfacing works at the road
sections concerned, review the relevant work in detail and consider enhancing the road
surfacing materials to prevent recurrence of the problem.
109. Miss CHAU Hei-man stated that the owner of the private section of Tai Wan
Road had installed iron chains at the iron gate in front of the staircase leading to Man
Yue Street and Man Lok Street recently to prohibit the parking of vehicles and thus the
problem of road blockage at the site was less severe. However, despite the fact that a
24-hour no-stopping zone was already set up on the carriageway near Hung Hom Estate,
a large number of vehicles were still parked illegally, obstructing the access of residents.
Though the Police had stated that no enforcement actions would be taken against
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vehicles parked on private streets and causing no obstruction to the traffic, he hoped
that the Police could, at the same time, give considerations to the safety of residents
using the road. As many elders and children would make use of the road, vehicles
parked at the site would cause obstruction to the view of pedestrians and give rise to
accidents.
110. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD said that the Department noted that some
commercial vehicles were always parked illegally at the junction of Taku Street and
Bulkeley Street to load or unload goods. The Department would review whether the
current restriction hours for the no-stopping zones were appropriate and would not rule
out the possibility of tightening restrictions at the site. The Department had issued the
Works Request Forms for the designation of a 24-hour no-stopping zone at the roadside
opposite to Po Wai Building. Similarly, to address the problem of traffic volume of
the road section, TD would consider demarcating more 24-hour no-stopping zones and
conduct examinations on the road section mentioned by Mr LAM Tak-shing.
111. Mr YIP Yuk-tsang of HyD stated that he would check the condition of the
road surface of Taku Street and Bulkeley Street with the Road Management Division
and carry out temporary repairs instantly if necessary.
112. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF agreed with the observations by Mr Pius YUM on
the problem of illegal parking on Taku Street. He opined that danger might be posed
when large buses were making turns at the relevant road section packed with illegally-
packed vehicles. The Police would follow the usual practice of allowing temporary
loading and unloading activities without causing obstruction. Nevertheless, they
would take relentless enforcement actions against vehicles parked illegally at road
bends and had towed away vehicles causing obstruction at the relevant road section in
the past. Concerning the problem of law enforcement at the private section of Tai Wan
Road, the Police had made prosecutions at the location in the past but the prosecutions
had to be withdrawn ultimately in view of the judgement of the court. Thus, factors
like private streets, proportionality between vehicles and road surfaces and the
pedestrian utilisation rate had to be considered. The Police had relayed the relevant
problem to the management office of the building and the office had carried out follow-
up work such as erecting directional signs and installing iron chains in response to the
suggestions given by the Police. According to the observations by the Police, the
problem of illegal parking in the area near Hung Hom Estate intensified slightly in
recent days possibly owing to the work-from-home arrangement of many people during
the pandemic. The Police undertook to closely monitor the situation of illegal parking
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at the relevant locations in the future.
113. Mr Pius YUM wished that the Police could strengthen enforcement actions in
response to the needs of residents before improvements were made by TD. Moreover,
he hoped that TD could designate 24-hour no-stopping zones not only on the road
opposite to Po Wai Building but also in the area next to Po Wai Building. He said that
some drivers would park their vehicles at a position a bit outward so as to accommodate
the location of railings, thus narrowing the carriageway. Widening the yellow grids
could make the vehicles wait in front of the grids and thereby alleviate road congestion.
Thus, he wished that TD could reconsider the relevant proposal.
114. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD noted Members’ opinions and would consider
implementing appropriate transport measures at the abovementioned road junction to
crack down on illegal parking.
Strong Request for Combating the Problem of Illegal Parking
(Paper No. 12/20)
Request to the Police for Strengthening the Enforcement Action against Illegal
Parking at Mok Cheong Street, Ma Tau Wai Road and Pak Tai Street
(Paper No. 13/20)
Request for Strengthening Enforcement Action against Drivers Parking Illegally
in To Kwa Wan
(Paper No. 14/20)
115. Mr YANG Wing-kit introduced Paper No. 12/20.
116. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu introduced Paper No. 13/20.
117. Mr MA Hei-pang introduced Paper No. 14/20.
118. The Chairman particularly pointed out the problem of illegal parking at three
locations in To Kwa Wan District and wished that the Department could follow up.
These included Bailey Street Seaside bound, Chi Kiang Street near Ko Shan Road
(especially at lunch and dinner hours), and the section between To Kwa Wan Road to
northbound Ma Tau Wai Road and Shek Tong Street to Wing Kwong Street near Chat
Ma Mansion and Essex Crescent Rest Garden. Illegal parking was rampant at the
abovementioned three locations. Since franchised buses plied their routes on both
Bailey Street and Ma Tau Wai Road, illegally parked vehicles caused obstruction to the
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pick-up and drop-off of passengers by buses. He had sent letters to TD in the past and
requested for the formulation of appropriate measures to make improvements on the
en-route stops of Airport Bus Route A23 on Bailey Street as buses were currently forced
to stop in the middle lane to pick up and drop off passengers every time when vehicles
were illegally parked, hence posing danger to passengers with large luggage. He
requested the Police to accord priorities to blackspots of illegal parking which affected
franchised bus routes and public transport services.
119. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF gave a reply as follow:
(i) parking spaces for motorcycles on Ko Shan Road and Chi Kiang
Street were always occupied by those from driving schools or
motorcycle companies. In the past, the Police had communicated
with the relevant stakeholders and given warnings to request
stakeholders to move the vehicles to be rented or sold back into the
shops. The situation improved at the time but the relevant work
could not continue recently owing to the problem of the deployment
of manpower. The Police would keep on maintaining good
communication with stakeholders so that the parking spaces
concerned would be released for public use;
(ii) the Police had all along been conducting “whirlwind summons actions”
at present. Apart from District Traffic Teams, the Police would also
arrange manpower from the Patrol Sub-unit of each district to take
comprehensive prosecution actions in streets blocked by illegally
parked vehicles, in the hope that members of the public would know
that the Police would carry out enforcement persistently;
(iii) the Police had aligned the direction for enforcement on streets in To
Kwa Wan District. They would prioritise illegally parked vehicles
causing traffic congestion on major trunk roads and then follow up on
cases which would endanger the safety of road users;
(iv) Traffic Wardens had all along been taking prosecution actions
through the issuance of fixed penalty tickets from Chi Kiang Street
and Ko Shan Road to the market. However, he did not receive any
report or information about Traffic Wardens making U-turns at the
market. He would learn about the situation from his colleagues
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before making follow-ups;
(v) the Police and TD had inspected the entrance of San Ma Tau Street
and discovered that vehicles illegally parked on fast lanes would
cause obstruction to buses making turns and entering the street.
Thus, the Police was now considering erecting road signs at the site
and conducting vehicle towing operations on traffic operation days in
the future; and
(vi) the Police had carried out site inspection on Cheung Ning Street.
There appeared to be general agreement among owners of different
vehicle repair workshops that one traffic lane was reserved for the use
by general vehicles. The Police seldom patrolled the site if there
were no complaints, but once a complaint was received, they would
take prosecution actions through issuance of fixed penalty tickets on
the entire street or divert vehicles to appropriate locations for parking.
The Police would continue to communicate with the stakeholders in
the future so as to relay the considerations and concerns of residents
to them, in the hope that the problem of illegal parking could be
addressed at source.
120. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD made a reply as follows:
(i) the problem of illegal parking on major trunk roads in To Kwa Wan
District was genuinely very serious. TD had designated no-stopping
zones with different levels of restriction at different locations to
restrict vehicles from loading and unloading goods or stopping;
(ii) he had received opinions from the owners’ committee of the Grand
Waterfront on the problem of illegal parking at San Ma Tau Street at
an earlier time. TD had contacted the chairman of the committee and
noted the committee’s concerns about the situation mentioned by Mr
MA Hei-pang. Thus, the Department planned to provide 24-hour no-
stopping zones at the abovementioned location with a view to
prohibiting vehicles from parking at the bend and thereby maintaining
smooth traffic flow;
(iii) he was aware that the Harmony Garden on Kowloon City Road was
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in proximity with the market and old industrial buildings. Different
kinds of trucks would load or unload goods at roadsides. The
Department noted Members’ opinions and would study the possibility
of designating restriction zones or providing parking facilities with
the aim of allowing people crossing the roads to have good vision;
(iv) TD had received complaints on the problem of illegal parking on Ma
Tau Kok Road from time to time. A no-stopping zone had already
been demarcated at the site. The Department would examine the
suitability of expanding the zone;
(v) regarding the problem of illegal parking on Bailey Street, the
Department noticed that the illegally parked vehicles there would
obstruct airport buses from picking up and dropping off passengers.
They had communicated with colleagues from the relevant section
and considered implementing suitable transport measures such as
drawing a road sign indicating that only buses were allowed to stop
on the street; and
(vi) since the road section from To Kwa Wan Road to Ma Tau Wai Road
connected the major trunk roads in To Kwa Wan District and Hung
Hom District, the Department had already demarcated no-stopping
zones with different levels of restriction at the site. In respect of the
problem of illegal parking at the site, the Department would conduct
site visits once again and review the existing road facilities. For
instance, the Department would see whether the areas covered by no-
stopping zones were large enough. If not, they would consider
strengthening the relevant measures.
121. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu supplemented that traffic congestion always occurred
at the two bus stops on Ma Tau Kok Road near Pak Tai Street during morning and
evening peak hours. Same situation occurred at the bus stop on Mok Cheong Street
near Sky Tower. Thus, he wished that the Police would step up crackdowns on the
problem of illegal parking at the abovementioned locations.
122. Mr YANG Wing-kit hoped that the Police could take actions to combat
illegal parking at places mentioned in the Paper including Ko Shan Road, Chi Kiang
Street and Kau Pui Lung Road. He pointed out that illegal parking always took place
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at the crossing places at the junction of Kau Pui Lung Road and Lok Shan Road, which
blocked the view of pedestrians crossing the roads and likely gave rise to accidents.
Thus, he hoped that the Police could pay more attention to the problem.
123. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF noted Mr YANG Wing-kit’s opinions and
promised to instruct colleagues from Hung Hom Division and the District Traffic Team
to handle the problem together. In addition, the Police observed that a lay-by allowing
temporary loading and unloading activities was provided within 50 metres ahead of the
bus stop outside Jubilant Place on Ma Tau Wai Road. The problem of traffic
congestion was attributed to the excessive time for loading and unloading goods by
individual vehicles. The Police would instruct colleagues from Kowloon City
Division to give more concern to the relevant road section. Moreover, since there
were recycling shops and vehicle repair workshops next to Sky Tower on Mok Cheong
Street, illegal parking might occur and lead to traffic congestion. The Police noted
Members’ opinions and would instruct colleagues from Kowloon City Division and the
District Traffic Team to tackle the problem together.
124. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu supplemented that he could see that vehicles
generally stayed for a short period of time in the area allowing temporary loading and
unloading activities in front of the bus stop outside Jubilant Place on Ma Tau Wai Road
while some were always illegally parked on the opposite carriageway, hindering buses
to stop. Besides, apart from the staff of recycling shops and vehicle repair workshops,
some people were also parking their vehicles illegally on Mok Cheong Street. He
wished that the Police would pay attention to the problem.
125. Mr LAI Kwong-wai requested the Police to provide the numbers of
enforcement actions taken and fixed penalty tickets issued every month from January
2019 to now at the seven illegal parking blackspots mentioned in Paper No. 14/20 after
the meeting.
126. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF replied that the relevant location was at the
junction of Kowloon City Division and Hung Hom Division and he would instruct the
relevant district traffic team to handle the issue. The Police would contact with Mr
LAI Kwong-wai after the meeting and provide him the number of prosecutions made
every month at the seven locations from January 2019 to February 2020.
127. The Chairman believed that other Members were also very concerned about
the numbers of the enforcement actions taken and fixed penalty tickets issued every
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month at the relevant locations. Thus, he hoped that the Police could provide the
relevant information to the Secretariat for circulation among Members.
Request to the Police for Making Public the List of Places Targetted for
Enforcement against Illegal Parking in Ho Man Tin and Accounting for the Details
about the Action Taken
(Paper No. 15/20)
Concern about the Worsening Problem of Illegal Parking at Carmel Village Street,
Hau Man Street and Chung Hau Street
(Paper No. 16/20)
Request to the Police for Strengthening Enforcement Action against Illegal
Parking in Chung Hau Street
(Paper No. 17/20)
128. Mr Joshua FUNG presented Paper No. 15/20.
129. Mr CHEUNG King-fan presented Paper No. 16/20.
130. Miss Jakki MAK presented Paper No. 17/20.
131. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF made the following reply:
(i) he concurred that the problem of illegal parking at Chung Hau Street,
Carmel Village Street and Hau Man Street was severe. In the past,
illegal parking mainly occurred near Oi Man Plaza during the rush
hours before school and interest classes in the morning. Though
the number of parents’ vehicles picking up children decreased
recently, the number of vehicles parked overnight at the site increased.
In the light of the problem, the Police had conducted prosecution
work at the abovementioned road section during different time
periods including the peak hours from the evening to the next
morning since mid-February in a bid to press the drivers to change
their irresponsible attitude;
(ii) concerning the monthly prosecution figures of the abovementioned
streets, the Police would provide the figures to the Secretariat after the
meeting for circulation among Members;
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(iii) the Police had all along been combating illegal parking activities in
Ho Man Tin District including Sheung Lok Street, Sheung Foo Street,
Argyle Street and Waterloo Street. The Police would continue their
enforcement actions in the future; and
(iv) he noted the traffic condition on Good Shepherd Street in Oi Man
Estate and would instruct his colleagues from Hung Hom Division to
keep in view of the road section.
132. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD gave a reply as follows:
(i) the Department had provided different crossing places at the road
section off Oi Man Plaza on Chung Hau Street and 24-hour no-
stopping zones at the uphill side and downhill side of the crossing
places so as to prevent obstruction caused by parking at the site to
pedestrians crossing the road and the occurrence of traffic safety
problems;
(ii) the Department had also constructed a lay-by at the road section of the
abovementioned location so that vehicles could pick up and drop off
passengers if necessary. Given that parents had to send their children
to attend school and interest classes, the relevant no-stopping zone did
not extend to the entire section of Chung Hau Street. Nevertheless,
he emphasised that the Department only allowed temporary pick-up
and drop-off activities instead of parking. They would conduct
reviews on the area of the no-stopping zone on Chung Hau Street and
the usage of the zone by the public. If any illegal acts were identified,
the Department would consider strengthening the relevant measures;
(iii) different no-stopping zones were currently demarcated on Carmel
Village Street and Hau Man Street. In respect of the widening of the
zones at the abovementioned road section proposed by Members, the
Department had considered a number of factors when increasing the
number of no-stopping zones at different locations in the district,
particularly at the locations where traffic volume and safety were
affected, in the light of the problem of illegal parking. They would
implement the relevant enhancement measures as soon as possible;
and
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(iv) regarding the addition of parking meters on Hau Man Street, 17
metered parking spaces were provided on Hau Man Street and Chung
Yee Street presently and a 24-hour underground car park was also
constructed in Ho Man Tin Park on Hau Man Street, offering 50
parking spaces. Thus, the Department held the view that temporary
parking spaces were sufficient at this stage but they would continue
to review the usage of parking spaces. If necessary, they would
consider the feasibility of adding metered parking spaces.
133. Mr WONG Wing-kit said that a bus from the Kowloon Motor Bus Co.
(1933) Ltd. (KMB) was once blocked by illegally parked vehicles and could not drive
past the roundabout of Sheung Foo Street. The incident had to be reported to the
Police instantly. KMB had displayed notices at the railings in the vicinity to remind
drivers not to park their vehicles at the abovementioned location in order to avoid
obstruction to traffic. He enquired whether the Police had taken corresponding
measures to follow up the problem.
134. Mr Joshua FUNG confirmed with the Police whether the number of
monthly prosecutions against illegally parked vehicles at the abovementioned locations
could be provided.
135. Mr PO Yiu-wa of HKPF replied that according to the past observations,
illegal parking took place frequently at the roundabout of Sheung Foo Street during
hours before and after school. The Department would deploy manpower to learn
about the pattern of illegal parking such as overnight parking or others and carry out
corresponding actions against all sorts of illegal parking in the future. Moreover, in
response to Mr Joshua FUNG’s request, the Police would provide the breakdown of
prosecutions in the past 14 months at the six illegal parking locations mentioned in
Paper No. 15/20 to the Secretariat for distribution to Members.
Optimisation of the Traffic Design of Tin Kwong Road and Sheung Shing Street
to Alleviate Traffic Congestion
(Paper No. 18/20)
Request to TD for Enhancing its Role in Cracking down on Illegal Driving of
Learner Drivers and Introducing a Demerit Point System
(Paper No. 19/20)
136. Mr YANG Wing-kit introduced Paper No. 18/20.
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137. Mr Joshua FUNG introduced Paper No. 19/20.
138. Ms Christine LUK of TD stated that the Department had all along been
observing the setting and operation of the pedestrian traffic lights at the junction of Ma
Tau Wai Road and Tin Kwong Road. Based on their observations, traffic was quite
busy at the site and traffic congestion sometimes occurred. If the time of green signals
of vehicular traffic lights was prolonged, the waiting time for pedestrians would be too
long and inconvenience would be caused to them. On the contrary, if the time of green
signals of pedestrian traffic lights was prolonged, the waiting time for vehicles became
too long and the problem of traffic congestion would be intensified. Thus, the current
setting had balanced the needs of all parties but the Department would review whether
rooms were available for improving the traffic condition of the abovementioned road
junction.
139. Mr Ken LEUNG, Senior Executive Office / Driving Test 1 of TD, replied
that the Department had extended the prohibited time for learning driving on Tin
Kwong Road, for example, prohibiting driving learning on Sheung Hong Street and
King Tak Street for the whole day, while the prohibited time for learning driving on
Shek Ku Street and Gullane Road was between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. (except
Sundays and public holidays). Concerning the problem of relocation of the driving
test centres, the Department had all along been striving to identify suitable locations in
Hong Kong for setting up driving test centres but efforts were temporarily in vain.
Serving as test venues widely used and welcomed by candidates, the three driving test
centres in Ho Man Tin were of greatest importance. Thus, driving tests had still to be
conducted in Ho Man Tin District for the time being as long as suitable alternative lands
were not identified and the test centres would continue to serve people in need of
driving test services in Hong Kong.
140. Mr YANG Wing-kit understood the potential effect of the adjustments to the
traffic light signals at the pedestrian crossing at the junction of Ma Tau Wai Road and
Tin Kwong Road as mentioned by the Department. However, he pointed out that the
pedestrian crossing was crammed with students waiting to cross the road during hours
before and after school and some students might have to stand on the carriageway. As
the time of green signals of pedestrian traffic lights was extremely short, some students
had to run across the road. Thus, he urged the Department to tackle the problem in a
serious manner. Moreover, he reiterated that the area of Sheung Shing Street in Ho
Man Tin was currently packed with residential buildings and a large amount of residents’
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vehicles were using the road, always causing traffic congestion. Thus, the area was
no longer a suitable place for learning driving and undertaking driving tests. He
requested for relocating the driving test centres as soon as possible and considered
conducting driving tests inside a structure or changing the road test to a virtual driving
test. This problem was raised many times in the meetings of the previous terms of
KCDC and he wished the Department could sort out solutions seriously.
141. Mr HO Hin-ming made a reply on the traffic problem on Ma Tau Wai Road
and Tin Kwong Road. He pointed out that the traffic flow on Farm Road was changed
to an opposite direction at an earlier time in view of the SCL project. Drivers could
not make a left turn on Ma Tau Wai Road but had to drive for a longer distance to
Maidstone Road before making a turn to Tin Kwong Road. Thus, he requested TD to
consider allowing left turns on Tin Kwong Road, lest drivers had to take a long bypass
before entering Sheung Shing Street.
142. Mr Joshua FUNG stated that TD did not give a response on the proposal of
introducing a demerit point system concerning illegal driving learning activities.
Though TD had listed Sheung Hong Street and King Tak Street as areas prohibited for
driving learning for the whole day, some motorcyclists still always learned to drive at
the road section without being prosecuted. He enquired what existing measures were
in place by TD, a department responsible for managing driving learning issues, to
regulate illegal driving learning activities.
143. Ms Christine LUK of TD noted Members’ suggestions on the condition of
pedestrian crossing at the junction of Ma Tau Wai Road and Tin Kwong Road and
would explore feasible measures to improve the traffic condition of the site.
Furthermore, the traffic flow on Farm Road was changed to an opposite direction a few
years ago to facilitate the works of SCL with the aim of reducing traffic volume on Tin
Kwong Road. The traffic condition of Farm Road would return to normal upon the
completion of the SCL project.
144. Mr Ken LEUNG of TD noted Mr YANG Wing-kit’s opinions but he
remarked that the assessment of the current driving tests had to be made in accordance
with the requirements stipulated in the law. If the test was changed to a virtual driving
test, the law had to be amended and this arrangement in terms of driving safety had to
be studied. After making reference to the experience of foreign countries, none of the
foreign developed countries would assess the driving ability of a candidate simply by a
virtual driving test. In addition, since the roads were narrow but the number of
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vehicles was large in Hong Kong, the instant responsiveness of drivers to road
conditions was crucial. The Department had to carefully examine whether the results
of virtual driving tests could reflect the actual situation and reach the standards of safe
driving. Moreover, the existing demerit point system against drivers was formulated
pursuant to the current legislative regime and law enforcement power had to be
exercised when implementing the system. At present, the Police was responsible for
carrying out enforcement actions, and hence the deployment of enforcement manpower
and the establishment of enforcement mechanism had to be tackled first if the demerit
point system was to be introduced. Thus, the feasibility of the system had to be
explored in depth. At present, the Department would continue to maintain close
contact with the Police and conduct joint operations to combat illegal driving learning
activities.
145. Mr HO Hin-ming stated that the previous term of KCDC had requested for
relocating the driving test centres to remote or rural areas. He noted that the Fire
Services Department and the Police had conducted virtual driving tests at their own
driving centres and thus he requested TD to make reference to the relevant approach.
He demanded TD to submit a research report every year in respect of the relocation of
driving test centres.
146. Mr YANG Wing-kit concurred with Mr HO Hin-ming and requested TD to
submit a research report every year in respect of the relocation of driving test centres
and consider amending the law to allow virtual driving tests. He was of the view that
all road conditions could be reproduced through simulation and no scenarios could not
be simulated. He wished that TD could carefully study and consider the possibility of
conducting virtual tests and setting up a dedicated driving test centre.
147. Mr Ken LEUNG of TD noted Members’ opinions and would explore the
feasibility of the proposal.
Request for Providing a Pedestrian Crossing at Hung Hom South Road and Hung
Luen Road
(Paper No. 20/20)
Request for Improving the Pedestrian Crossing between Dock Street and Tak Man
Street
(Paper No. 21/20)
148. Dr KWONG Po-yin presented Paper No. 20/20.
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149. Mr Pius YUM presented Paper No. 21/20.
150. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD made a response as follows:
(i) regarding the proposal of providing pedestrian crossings on Hung
Hom South Road and Hung Luen Road, the Department had
conducted a few site visits in the past and gathered statistics on the
pedestrian flow at the footbridge of the abovementioned location
during morning peak hours last year. He had also inspected the
current traffic conditions;
(ii) currently, people had to use the footbridge to cross Hung Hom South
Road or Hung Luen Road. If a pedestrian crossing was added in the
proximity of the footbridge, the problem of traffic safety had to be
considered. Since the pedestrian crossing was proposed to be located
at the bend of northbound Hung Luen Road and there was a slope right
at the exit of the tunnel on southbound Hung Luen Road, the curvature
of the bend and the gradient of the slope constituted a problem as the
view of drivers and pedestrians might be blocked. Besides, the effect
of the provision of the pedestrian crossing at the aforementioned
location had to be taken into account. The existing footbridge was a
grade-separated crossing which was deemed as the safest pedestrian
crossing facility from the perspective of pedestrian traffic. If a
pedestrian crossing was provided on the road surface, they had to
consider whether the usage rate of the footbridge would decrease and a
waste of public money would be resulted;
(iii) he noted that HyD planned to provide a lift at the relevant footbridge.
Thus, the proposal of adding a pedestrian crossing had to be studied
carefully;
(iv) he noted that the relevant footbridge not only allowed people to cross
Hung Luen Road and Hung Hom South Road but also connected
nearby housing estates. Thus, TD would compile statistics on the
pedestrian flow and its direction so as to observe whether the usage
of the footbridge would decrease due to the addition of a pedestrian
crossing. They would also conduct surveys on the traffic volume at
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the junction later to predict whether any impact would be caused to
the capacity of the junction upon the addition of the pedestrian
crossing;
(v) in response to Paper No. 21/20, the Department had received the
proposal of adjusting the time for pedestrians to wait for the change
of traffic light signals on Dock Street and Tak Man Street in
September last year. Currently, the distance between the pedestrian
traffic lights at the junction of Dock Street and Tak Man Street was
13 metres and it took 11 seconds for pedestrians to cross the road.
Before receiving the proposal, the green signal of pedestrian traffic
lights including the flashing of the signal lasted for no less than 21
seconds. Upon the receipt of the proposal, adjustments were made.
The duration of green signals of pedestrian traffic lights on Tak Man
Street were extended from 25 seconds to 32 seconds and from 21
seconds and 28 seconds respectively, implying an increase of 30% in
the road crossing time for pedestrians in a bid to alleviate the
condition of the busy road and provide more time for pedestrians to
cross the road; and
(vi) concerning that the relocation of traffic lights involved widening of
pavements and investigations on whether underground pipelines
would cause obstruction, TD would carry out studies accordingly.
151. Dr KWONG Po-yin welcomed the assessment on the direction of pedestrian
flow conducted by TD regarding the proposal of the addition of a pedestrian crossing
but she opposed to the suggestion of the provision of a lift. It was because as far as
she understood, a part of the ramp on the footbridge near Whampoa Garden had to be
demolished if a lift was constructed. Since the construction might took a few years to
complete, road users had to make a detour and used an alternative route which would
bring them great inconvenience. She opined that TD should not request people to
waste time on making detours simply for the sake of avoiding a waste of the existing
facilities. It should not, in terms of road safety, merely consider separating the
pedestrians and try to reduce pedestrians from using ground facilities.
152. Mr Pius YUM thanked TD for making improvements on the pedestrian
traffic lights on Tak Man Street at an earlier time. However, he clarified that the main
purpose of this paper was to bring improvements to the pedestrian crossing on Dock
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Street. Since people would pass through the abovementioned location and reach Hung
Hom Market and residents of Ka Wai Chuen would use the pedestrian crossing to get
to Whampoa Station, thus the pedestrian crossing was extremely busy. In view of this,
he hoped TD could study whether there were any underground facilities below the road
section of Dock Street near Tak Man Street which would cause obstruction and further
consider relocating the traffic lights towards Tak Man Street so as to release and widen
the space for pedestrians waiting to cross the road.
153. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD stated that he would continue to gather statistics
on the pedestrian volume and direction of pedestrian flow at the footbridge on Hung
Hom South Road and Hung Luen Road in order to assess the impacts of the addition of
a pedestrian crossing to the footbridge. In addition, he clarified that adjustments had
been made to the duration of green signals of pedestrian traffic lights at four pedestrian
crossings on Dock Street and Tak Man Street. The duration of green signals of
pedestrian traffic lights at the pedestrian crossing on Dock Street near Hung Hom
Municipal Services Building was extended from 25 seconds to 32 seconds while that
on Dock Street near Bulkeley Street was extended from 21 seconds to 28 seconds.
The Department noted Members’ opinions and would conduct pedestrian flow surveys
during afternoon peak hours later. However, he hoped that Members could be more
patient. Even though pedestrian flow surveys were conducted, actual situation might
not be reflected in the light of the current pandemic. Thus, TD would carry out the
surveys when the pandemic was eased, and he would update the progress to the relevant
members.
154. Mr Pius YUM acknowledged that the current pedestrian flow was different
from that in the past and agreed that the peak hours of Dock Street might not be the
period before and after work. He suggested that the Department could pay heed to the
period after 9 a.m. and in the afternoon during which most people would go to the
market. He hoped that TD could firstly review the underground facilities of Dock
Street near Tak Man Street and conduct pedestrian flow surveys when the pandemic
subsided in order to save some research time. Moreover, he requested TD to provide
the information about the extension of the duration of green signals of pedestrian traffic
lights at the abovementioned location in writing so that he could explain the matter to
members of the public.
155. Mr MAK Ting-kai of TD said that pedestrian flow surveys and
investigations on the underground facilities below the relevant road section would be
carried out at the same time and he could provide the information about the extension
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of the duration of green signals of pedestrian traffic lights after the meeting.
Route Rationalisation and Frequency Adjustment of Minibus Route 27M to
Shorten the Waiting Time of Residents
(Paper No. 22/20)
156. Mr YANG Wing-kit introduced Paper No. 22/20.
157. Ms YUE Ka-ka of TD stated that they were conducting studies on the
introduction of a special run of GMB Route 27M and would provide detailed
information for the relevant members later. She would relay the opinion of the
rerouting of GMB Route 28MS to her colleagues from the relevant section and give a
reply to Members later.
158. Mr YANG Wing-kit enquired TD about the time needed for the study in
respect of the aforesaid proposal.
159. Ms YUE Ka-ka of TD said that she would give him a reply as soon as
possible.
160. The Chairman asked TD to provide the relevant information to the
Secretariat for passing on to Members.
(Post-meeting notes: TD had diverted the route of GMB Route 28MS to Maidstone
Road, namely the terminus of GMB Route 27M, on 8 July 2018. The Department
would continue to monitor the services of the aforesaid GMB route.)
Call for Following up the Problem of “Phantom Buses” on APP 1933 – KMB ·
LWB
(Paper No. 23/20)
Request for Increasing the Frequency of Runs of Bus No. A20 and Enhancement
of Service
(Paper No. 24/20)
Matters about the Frequency of Runs and the Routing of Bus No. E21A
(Paper No. 25/20)
Request for Providing Feeder Bus Services or Bus Interchange Routes in To Kwa
Wan to Connect Kai Tak Station of the Shatin to Central Link
(Paper No. 26/20)
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161. Dr KWONG Po-yin presented Paper No. 23/20.
162. Mr YANG Wing-kit presented Paper No. 24/20 and 25/20 on behalf of the
presenter of the papers.
163. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu presented Paper No. 26/20.
164. Mr Jeff TAM, Manager (Public Affairs) of KMB gave a reply as follows:
(i) in response to the problem on the mobile app of KMB, KMB would
submit operational data to TD. The information in the mobile app
was merely for reference purposes and no records would be saved.
The information aimed to allow passengers to learn about the arrival
information of the chosen bus route. Thus, the problem of
inaccurate records of bus frequency did not exist;
(ii) he delivered apologies to the public through KCDC and noted that
there was room for improvement in the performance of the app.
KMB had launched the relevant mobile app earlier on and the app had
been in operation for a few years. Thus, KMB had started updating
the software and hardware of the mobile app in the hope of enhancing
its performance within this year; and
(iii) he welcomed Members to provide screenshots and saved records for
KMB’s reference and follow-ups in respect of the problem of the
mobile app.
165. Ms WONG Sau-kuen, Assistant Manager (Planning and Development)
of KMB, gave a response on Paper No. 26/20 and stated that she remained open-minded
on the rerouting of KMB Route 5A and 5D and would follow up with TD to explore
the relevant proposal and the impact on passengers. Concerning the interchange
concessions, to tie in with the completion and commissioning of Kai Tak Station, KMB
and MTRCL had collaborated to provide interchange concessions for 15 bus routes.
KMB would discuss the discounted prices and the relevant opinions put forward by
Members with MTRCL.
166. Mr Simon WONG, Planning and Scheduling Manager of Citybus
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Limited / New World First Bus Services Limited, made a reply as follows:
(i) according to the survey on passenger volume, the occupancy rate of
Citybus Route A20 during the busiest hour of the day was
approximately 40%. There was still sufficient space to meet
passenger demand. Thus, the service level of the relevant route
would be maintained temporarily. He would continue to monitor the
demand for the relevant route and make proper adjustments if
necessary;
(ii) the average occupancy rate of Citybus Route E21A during the busiest
hour of the day was approximately 60%. There was still sufficient
space to meet passenger demand; and
(iii) at present, the occupancy rate of the first run of Route E21A departing
from Ho Man Tin was merely about 20%. This reflected that the
current services could satisfy the passenger demand. The company
would continue to closely oversee the operation of the route.
167. Mr Derek FU, Senior Transport Officer / Bus (Kowloon) of TD, made a
reply in respect of Paper No. 23/20 and 26/20:
(i) the Department had followed up the problem of the mobile app with
KMB and requested KMB to improve the relevant app in order to
provide correct information for passengers;
(ii) the Government had all along encouraged all public transport operators
to make available the data and would request operators to consider
providing information about the real-time locations of buses;
(iii) regarding the interchange arrangements of Kai Tak Station, apart
from the interchange concessions currently offered by MTRCL,
franchised bus operators and minibus operators, the routing of KMB
Route 5A had been extended to Kai Tak on 14 February while
passengers of Route 5A, 5D and other relevant routes could obtain
interchange concessions at MTR stations such as Hung Hom Station
and Whampoa Station other than Kai Tak Station;
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(iv) the Department expressed understanding of public opinion and the
need of rerouting Route 5A and Route 5D and had conducted trial
runs of the routes and inspections. Currently, Route 5A eastbound
could not reach Mok Cheong Street directly. Instead, it had to make
a U-turn at Kowloon City Roundabout and arrive at Mok Cheong
Street via Hang Wan Road, or travel on the bus lane via the Family
Planning Association of Hong Kong and make a right turn to Ma Tau
Wai Road before arriving at Mok Cheong Street. Since the route
had to pass four traffic lights and two bus stops from Mok Cheong
Street to Sung Wong Toi Road and another four to five traffic lights
from Shing Kai Road to Muk On Street, even though the traffic
volume of Shing Kai Road was less than that of Prince Edward Road
East, it was found during the trial runs of the route that the actual
journey time would be prolonged upon rerouting; and
(v) though the Department did not plan to reroute Routes 5A and 5D at
this stage, they would continue to conduct reviews and collate public
views. In view of the development of Kai Tak new area, TD would
undertake comprehensive reviews constantly and did not preclude the
possibility of making improvements or adjustments on the transport
network in Kai Tak new area in the future.
168. Ms YUE Ka-ka of TD gave a reply in respect of Paper No. 24/20 and 25/20:
(i) Citybus Route A20 had started to travel past Ho Man Tin District
since September 2019 and the runs were maintained at an interval of
60 minutes. As the result of the survey on passenger volume
showed that the occupancy rate of Route A20 during the busiest hour
of the day was approximately 40%, TD did not consider adjusting the
bus frequency temporarily but would keep in view of the passenger
demand with the bus company and make adjustments when necessary;
and
(ii) Citybus Route E21A provided services for residents in Tung Chung to
go to urban areas directly. If the route was diverted to the Airport,
the journey time would be prolonged and the current runs would be
affected. If residents in the district would like to get to the Airport,
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they could transfer to other airport buses at Mei Foo or Lantau Link
Toll Plaza, or travel by Route A20 to reach the Airport directly.
169. Dr KWAN Ka-lun’s opinions and enquiries were as follows:
(i) he remained doubtful about KMB’s claim that the data of the mobile
app and the data submitted to TD by KMB were not extracted from
the same system and the figures of the mobile app was merely for
reference purposes and not kept as records. Passengers currently
relied on the mobile app to obtain information about bus frequency.
Nonetheless, the information provided by the app was inaccurate and
could only be taken as reference, and there was no reporting
mechanism or monitoring system against wrong messages. It was
dissatisfactory for passengers to use the relevant services;
(ii) he agreed that KMB should enhance the software and hardware of the
mobile app and enquired about the relevant concrete measures; and
(iii) he commented that TD’s request to KMB for showing the real-time
bus locations in the app could solve the current problem and he
enquired about the precise schedule of implementation.
170. Mr LAM Tak-shing put forward the following opinions:
(i) the previous term of KCDC had discussed the problem of KMB
mobile app several times and KMB kept repeating that they would
learn from the problem and make improvements but problems
emerged again and again. He hoped that KMB would enhance the
accuracy of the relevant app as soon as possible so that members of
the public could get hold of the bus information more easily and he
requested KMB to provide the timetable for the enhancement work
of the mobile app; and
(ii) the commissioning of Citybus Route A20 had made it more convenient
for passengers to travel. He wished that KMB could consider
increasing the number of runs during the peak hours in the morning
and evening. He held the view that the increase in the number of bus
runs might attract more passengers to choose the route.
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171. Mr YANG Wing-kit raised the following views:
(i) he always used the mobile app of KMB and the problems brought up
in the Paper truly existed. However, he opined that it was difficult
to capture the screen when bus delays or changes in the waiting time
were shown in the app since the relevant information of bus frequency
would suddenly disappear. Thus, it was useless for KMB to request
Members to provide screenshots. He wished that KMB could
carefully consider raising the accuracy of the mobile app, otherwise
people would waste time and money in waiting for buses not on
schedule. He emphasised that both KMB and First Bus had to boost
the accuracy of their mobile apps;
(ii) as Citybus Route A20 ran at an interval of 60 minutes, the desire of
passengers to take this route would be dampened. In consideration
of the impacts of the current epidemic and social events as well, an
occupancy rate of 40% of the route was satisfactory enough. It was
believed that the occupancy rate would increase if no impacts were
posed. Thus, he commented that the bus company could estimate the
future occupancy rate at the moment and consider increasing the
number of bus runs. He believed that passengers would be more
willing to opt for the route with an increase in the number of runs; and
(iii) he was of the view that the diversion of Citybus Route E21A to the
airport could complement the problem of low frequency. He
suggested that Citybus could try to put the relevant proposal into
practice during peak hours.
172. Dr KWONG Po-yin concurred with Dr KWAN Ka-lun’s request for
establishing a reporting mechanism. She had made complaints on the problem of
“phantom buses” several times in the past. KMB remarked at the time that buses
might be delayed because of road obstruction but though she insisted on waiting, the
bus did not come. Therefore, she was pleased to know that KMB had acknowledged
the problem of “phantom buses” eventually. She highlighted that besides the mobile
app, same data were used for the real-time bus arrival information display panels at bus
stops. Thus, elders not knowing how to use the mobile app had been facing the
problem of “phantom buses” for a long time. She reckoned that other than boosting
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and improving the accuracy of the mobile app, KMB should consider publicising the
actual data. At the same time, she enquired about the measures implemented by KMB
to encourage the bus company to publicise the data. She proposed that TD could
include the relevant request into the considerations of license renewal of bus companies
or at least establish a reporting or complaint mechanism so that people could choose
the suitable modes of transportation and means of commuting more easily.
173. Mr HO Hin-ming pointed out that he was waiting for KMB Route 208 at
the bus stop near Kowloon Park last week. At the time, the app showed that the bus
would arrive ten-odd minutes later. Nonetheless, when he waited till the estimated
arrival time, the bus still had not arrived. While the mobile app suddenly showed that
the next bus of the route would arrive 38 minutes later, he captured the screen instantly.
He would send the screenshot to the representatives of KMB later, requesting for a
follow-up.
174. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu expressed that the Paper he submitted aimed to,
before the full commissioning of SCL, suggest the provision of interchange concessions
for residents in To Kwa Wan District heading to Kai Tak Station instead of other stations
such as Whampoa or Ho Man Tin. He commented that the offer of the relevant
concessions would be futile once To Kwa Wan Station and Song Wong Toi Station were
put into service. It was believed that KCDC had to further discuss the entire traffic
setup by the time. Thus, he hoped that the Department and the bus company could
carefully consider expediting the provision of interchange concessions for passengers
transferring to Kai Tak Station and not delaying the launch of the proposal till the full
commissioning of SCL. Moreover, he requested Citybus to provide the timetable for
studying the proposal of providing interchange concessions for Route 608.
175. The Chairman said that besides the issue of "phantom buses”, the
advertisements appearing on KMB mobile app also became annoyances to users. He
commented that the application was set up to enable residents to know the arrival time
of franchised buses, and was a kind of public service. He hoped that KMB would
consider removing the advertisements in the programme.
176. Mr Pius YUM asked TD if the KMB mobile app was included in the
performance pledge of contractors and whether the Department regarded the
information provided on the mobile app was for reference purposes only.
177. Mr WONG Wing-kit enquired when the Citybus carried out the most recent
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survey on the passenger capacity of Routes A20 and E21A, and when the reassessment
would be performed and the need to adjust services be studied.
178. Miss Jakki MAK said that the number of passengers taking Citybus Route
A20 was related to its frequency of runs. Since the current interval of buses was one
run every 60 minutes, many residents would rather walk to the neighboring area to take
buses travelling on a similar route to reach the destination. He opined that the current
arrangement of Route 20A failed to meet the needs of residents in the district.
179. Mr Jeff TAM of KMB gave the following reply:
(i) an apology was made due to the unsatisfactory performance of the
mobile application, yet he said that the inaccuracy of the arrival
forecast did not imply that KMB deliberately provided incorrect
information. He reiterated that KMB had no intention to release
inaccurate information in order to fulfil the performance pledge. The
company would try its best to upgrade and optimise the application
system within this year as far as possible in a bid to improve the
problem of error or signal impact, but the actual timetable could not
be provided at the moment;
(ii) it should be stressed that mobile application information was for
reference only as there stood a chance that the actual bus arrival time
differed from the time shown by the mobile app due to system or
signal reception issues;
(iii) in regard to the advertisements which appeared on the mobile appt,
since KMB needed to pay the costs for system operation and data
collection, the addition of advertisements on the mobile app could
help ensure its sustainable development. At present, advertisements
only popped up when the mobile app was opened. Besides airing
advertisements on the banner position, the app would also display
service information of KMB for the reference of passengers; and
(iv) it was understood that the positions of the button to close
advertisements in the mobile app varied from time to time, causing
inconvenience to users. He pointed out that this condition was
attributed to the way of operation of the network platform in
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cooperation, KMB would pay efforts to make an improvement.
180. Mr Calvin WONG, Chief Planning Officer of Citybus / First Bus, replied
as follows:
(i) the survey on the size of passengers of Citybus Route A20 was
conducted in mid-January 2020 (i.e. before the outbreak of the
epidemic). The current number of passengers was presumably lower
than that reflected in the survey result. Citybus planned to conduct a
statistical survey and a review of bus routes when the epidemic was
over and the number of passengers and work arrangements returned
to normal;
(ii) the buses running on Citybus Route E21A from Ho Man Tin to Tung
Chung operated at an interval of 15 to 20 minutes. Citybus would
continue to pay close attention to the number of passengers using the
service of the relevant route and make a review in due course; and
(iii) as the proposal for offering interchange concessions on Citybus Route
608 involved other transport operators, Citybus would forward the
proposal to MTRCL and TD for discussion.
181. Mr Derek FU of TD gave the following reply:
(i) he could understand the reason of requesting for interchange
concessions for passengers travelling from To Kwa Wan District to
Kai Tak Station put forward by Mr YEUNG Chun-yu. He stated that
the Department would review and study comprehensively the
condition of each route and the traffic facilities along that particular
route. TD would also continue to follow up the relevant suggestions
and refer the calls of Members and the need of providing interchange
concessions to the colleagues of the division concerned;
(ii) in reply to Mr Pius YUM’s question, he said when KMB renewed its
franchise in 2017, it undertook to provide the public with the expected
arrival time of buses. As for the routes jointly operated with other
bus companies, the details about the runs of those companies other
than the real-time location information should be shown on the mobile
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app. TD was now following up the issue with KMB and urging it to
enhance the accuracy of the information displayed by the app. TD
would continue to observe and assess the degree of improvement
achieved by KMB within this year; and
(iii) he noted Members’ call for imposing more conditions and
requirements when it came to the renewal of the bus company. He
said that the Department would make follow-ups when the bus
company applied for the renewal of franchise in the future.
182. Ms YUE Ka-ka of TD took note of Members' comments on Citybus Routes
A20 and E21A and she promised to follow this up with Citybus and make necessary
adjustments. Besides, Members would be told about the survey results on the size of
passengers of the relevant routes after the meeting.
183. The Chairman requested TD to pass the survey results to all members
through the Secretariat for circulation.
(Post-meeting notes: According to the survey on passenger throughput by Citybus, the
maximum loading of Route A20 buses towards the airport was around 40% during
morning peak hours in January 2020 while the maximum loading of the buses heading
for Hung Hom was also 40% during afternoon peak hours. The maximum loading of
Route E21A buses towards Oi Man Estate was about 50% recorded during peak hours
in the morning in August 2019 while the maximum loading rate of the buses heading
for Yat Tung Estate was 60% during afternoon peak hours. )
184. Mr Pius YUM said that old buses not connected to wireless access points
were still in service and he enquired if this would affect the forecast on the actual arrival
time of buses. If this did affect, he wished that KMB would replace the buses with
new ones as soon as possible.
185. Dr KWONG Po-yin reiterated that disseminating wrong information on
mobile app was not a recent issue, and this had been discussed by the Council when
KMB renewed its franchise last time. Nevertheless, no requirement was posed on this
aspect when a renewal was sought by the company at that time. She said that the app
of Citybus was developed faster and better than that of KMB. She asked KMB to look
at the problem seriously and thought that it would not matter much even if the app
system was not upgraded because as soon as the real-time data was available, some
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talents in the city would be able to consolidate the data and present it to the public. Dr
KWONG also hoped that KMB would actively alleviate the disturbances caused to
users by buttons for closing advertisements popping up at different positions by way of
adjusting the app.
186. The Chairman said that information about the real-time location of buses
was provided in many places around the world nowadays and he believed that TD did
have to set it as a condition for granting licences in an effort to motivate bus companies
to improve the service. He believed that the opening-up of data implied that the bus
company could keep pace with the times as this facilitated passengers to learn the
information about bus runs more easily and thus in turn enhance the operation and
passenger throughput. He urged KMB and Citybus / First Bus to be more active in
the cooperation with companies providing apps on maps to furnish real-time bus
location information.
187. Mr TAM Chun-hei of KMB revealed that connection to wireless access
points of buses bore no relation with the operation of real-time arrival forecast system.
However, KMB would strive to improve the accuracy of forecasting bus arrival time of
the mobile app. In addition, as the position of closing advertisements was controlled
by Internet service providers, and this problem also prevailed in other mobile apps,
KMB would keep making follow-ups. The company also noted the opinions on
opening up data and would study it proactively.
188. Ms Joyce WAN, Assistant Public Affairs Manager of Citybus / First Bus,
said that it was not an easy job to develop a real-time arrival data collection system in
Hong Kong and to distribute the relevant information to passengers through app
platforms. She revealed that Citybus started testing the real-time arrival time inquiry
service as early as 2007, and yet, due to the special environment in Hong Kong, with
everywhere packed with high-rise buildings and large traffic volume, accurate data
could not be provided solely by GPS. In view of this, Citybus had been constantly
upgrading and updating the relevant system over the past ten years, with the aid of
digital maps and supporting facilities as well as reference to the past driving records to
estimate the real-time position of buses. In 2018, the company extended the service
to all Citybus / First Bus routes and started providing the relevant data to
DATA.GOV.HK in 2019. The public could download and use the data for free through
government platforms.
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The Bus Route Planning Programme 2020-2021 of Kowloon City District
(Paper No. 27/20)
Dissatisfaction with the Lack of Information about RDP of This Year and Request
for Returning the Discussion Paper and Deferring the Implementation of the Plan
of Cutting Bus Runs
(Paper No. 28/20)
189. Mr Pius YUM introduced Paper No. 28/20.
190. Mr FU Ting-hong of TD presented paper No. 27/20.
191. Mr WONG Wing-kit said that though the merger of Routes 41 and 241X
provided convenience to some people, it might affect some of the existing passengers.
The waiting time of Route 41 was about 30 minutes on weekdays. He hoped that the
route would be retained and bus runs at an interval of 20 to 30 minutes be maintained.
In addition, he wanted to know if TD had prepared any alternative solutions to make up
for the inconvenience caused to the public as a result of shortening the route besides
the four alternative routes suggested in the reply.
192. Miss Jakki MAK said that 3 000 people, accounting for 50% of the
passengers taking Route 41 buses from Sham Shui Po to Ho Man Tin and Kowloon
City, would be affected as the merger plan of Routes 41 and 241X did not make amends
to these passengers. Many residents complained that bus runs of Routes 41 and 45
were scarce presently and the waiting time could be as long as over 30 minutes. Miss
MAK demanded TD to provide an alternative plan, lest she would oppose the merger
plan.
193. Mr. HO Hin-ming did not object to the changes made to Route 22, but he
suggested altering the route from La Salle Road to go straight onto Renfrew Road, then
turning left into Waterloo Road via Junction Road, then entering Cornwall Street before
reaching the Festival Walk. Such an adjustment would facilitate students from the
Baptist University and people living at Broadcast Drive to travel to Kai Tak
Development Area and provide more options to residents.
194. Mr CHEUNG King-fan said that the changes just made to Route 20 and the
addition of Route 20A seemed circuitous to the residents in the area. He requested TD
to consider adjusting the plans to meet the needs of residents in Kai Tak Development
Area by arranging buses to drive past Muk Tai Street, then Muk Ning Street and Muk
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On Street, etc.
195. The Chairman put forward the following views and enquiries:
(i) he asked about the reason for setting the fare of special runs of Route
20A higher than that of Route 20. He observed that the length of the
two routes were similar and the distance Route 20A travelled seemed
even shorter, yet the fare was $0.9 higher than that of Route 20;
(ii) Paper No. 29 tabled indicated that 50% of the passengers taking Route
41 buses travelled between Sham Shui Po and Ho Man Tin and
Kowloon City District. Upon its merger with Route 241X, the
travelling time of Route 241X would be shortened. The buses
serving this route would probably reduce, and so the frequency of bus
runs of Routes 18, 45 and 6C should be increased as substitutes; and
(iii) he understood that the original purpose of opening Route 6X was to
provide limited stop service for residents who travelled to work within
the urban area. Thus he went further to ask for the reason of not
making the route go through the West Kowloon Corridor to Kowloon
City, but setting limited stops along the way which was similar to the
original route. He also urged TD to disclose the criteria or
justifications for setting up stops in Yau Tsim Mong District, Sham
Shui Po, etc.
196. Mr Derek FU of TD replied as follows:
(i) Since Routes 41 and 241X set off from Tsing Yi and went past
different areas, TD was now consulting opinions in the areas
concerned and the views of Members would be considered;
(ii) he was aware that Members were concerned about the situation of
passengers being affected in Ho Man Tin and Kowloon City District
and thus hoped to increase the frequency of Routes 18, 45 and 6C.
At present, passengers could choose Routes 18, 41 or 45 to commute
to their destinations. As the number of routes were reduced, the
waiting time for passengers would inevitably increase, and the
Department would consider shortening the interval of buses to meet
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passenger demand;
(iii) he took note of Mr HO’s proposal for altering the routing of Route 22,
stating that the Department had consulted various district offices when
modifying Route 22 under the Bus Route Planning Programme in the
year of 2017 to 2018. However, he could see that passengers might
hold different views after implementation and therefore, the
Department would conduct a study and do follow-ups with the bus
company;
(iv) he could understand the suggestions of Mr CHEUNG on arranging
those bus routes to drive past Muk Tai Street and he stated that if the
terminal of the routes were set at Muk Tai Street, the relevant locations
should have suitable conditions for setting up bus terminus and be
large enough for erecting a rest spot for drivers. However, whether
bus stops could be provided in Muk Tai Street depended on the future
road design, such as the availability of a bus parking bay. If this was
not provided, the Department would consider adding a pick-up and
drop-off point near the junction of Muk Tai Street and Shing Kai Road
to facilitate passengers in the new development area of Muk Tai Street;
(v) regarding the fare of Route 20A, the current bus fares were determined
according to the scale of fares, and the fare level hinged on the
distance travelled. The actual fare for individual routes would be
decided by the operator according to the condition of individual routes
or other factors. In light of these, fares for routes with similar
distances might be set at different levels. Yet the Department would
ensure that the fares would not be higher than the levels specified in
the scale of fares; and
(vi) he noted the Chairman's comments on Route 6X, remarking that if the
route ran through the West Kowloon Corridor, it might be affected by
both the problems of high traffic volume and traffic congestion on the
expressway. Moreover, the course of the route and the distance from
urban areas to the expressway should be calculated and considered.
TD would study the issue on the whole with the bus company later.
Regarding the number of passengers at individual bus stops, the
related information could be passed to Members via the Secretariat
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after the meeting.
197. The Chairman requested TD to submit the relevant information to the
Secretariat for circulation to Members.
198. Mr Lam Tak-shing was concerned about the reorganisation of Routes 6C
and 6X. He pointed out that although the plan proposed to increase the frequency of
Route 6X, at the same time it reduced the frequency of Route 6C. This more or less
implied that resources were cut and inconvenience would be caused to residents. He
said the residents’ demand for Route 6C was rather great and he requested not to reduce
its frequency, which would prolong the waiting time of residents. In addition, he
opposed to the merger plan of Routes 41 and 241X. After the merger of these two
routes, the alternative route would charge a higher fare and generate a longer waiting
time, which might not help relieve the problem faced by residents.
199. Miss Jakki MAK said that the waiting time for Routes 41, 45 or 18 was
already very long. Despite that the Department was aware that a cut in the frequency
of Route 41 would lead to a long waiting time for the route, it still agreed to the proposal.
Thus, before TD provided an effective alternative, she would continue to oppose to the
merger of Routes 41 and 241X.
200. Mr HO Hin-ming said that he had voiced the same opinion to TD during the
consultation about Route 22 in the year of 2017 to 2018. At that time, TD stated that
it would conduct further study on the proposal with the bus company, yet no result was
released so far. He urged TD to give a definite reply on the time to make public the
result.
201. Mr CHEUNG King-fan asked TD to arrange engineers to carry out an on-
site inspection in Muk Tai Street to examine the feasibility of setting up a bus terminal.
It was estimated that the route would be in service in the first quarter of 2021, and the
construction of the new housing estate in Muk Tai Street would be completed in the end
of 2021. Passengers boarded in Muk On Street had to travel past stops in Muk Tai
Street where not so many passengers would get on board and this was time-consuming.
They hoped to consider revising the routing meanwhile and restoring it after the in-take
of the housing estates in Muk Tai Street.
202. The Chairman said that although the document on the table had shown TD ’s
considerations about the route planning of Route 241X, he opined that the information
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was insufficient and thus hoped that the Department would provide more relevant
information for reference. In addition, he could see that if Route 6X was revised to
go past the West Kowloon Corridor, buses would need to drive past spots with
congestion problem. He believed that the overall service and frequency of Routes 6C
and 6X should at least be kept unchanged, and the service arrangement for the
passengers at the non-stop stations of Route 6X should also be conceived. For these
reasons, he had reservations about the plans for Routes 241X and 6X, and he hoped that
the Department would make a follow-up.
203. Mr Derek FU of TD gave the following reply:
(i) he noted the views of Members on the merger of Routes 41 and 241X.
TD was now consulting the relevant District Councils and would
follow up later;
(ii) Route 6X was a supplementary route to Route 6C. After the
implementation of the plan, the number of buses serving Routes 6C
and 6X would remain unchanged, i.e., there would be a total of 19
buses serving the route and the total number of runs would be the same
as before. With the increase in the bus runs of Route 6X, the waiting
time for Route 6C buses during afternoon rush hours would slightly
change from 9 to 12 minutes to 10 to 12 minutes, and so residents
could opt Route 6X, which was shorter, from Lai Chi Kok to Kowloon
City;
(iii) concerning the Chairman’s comments, it was understood that some
passengers might find it inconvenient to get to the substations of Route
6X. They could then strike a balance between the frequency of
Route 6X and time saved when choosing their travel mode;
(iv) regarding Mr HO Hing-ming’s comments on Route 22, the
Department had to consider the current number of passengers taking
buses in Waterloo Road and the provision of service by individual
public transport service operators in Luen Fuk Road. The
Department would discuss with the bus company and reply later; and
(v) he understood Mr CHEUNG King-fan's concern about Route 20.
The date of commencement of service was for reference purposes only
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and it would be adjusted according to the occupancy of nearby
residences and population growth. TD would also study with the
engineers in charge and bus companies for arrangements of stops to
offer convenience to passengers.
204. Mr Simon WONG of KMB replied as follows:
(i) he agreed that Members’ proposed routing for Routes 20 and 20A
would be smoother and more efficient. However, as the terminal
facilities in Kai Tak Development Area were installed in Muk On
Street only, meanwhile the Department could only serve the area
around Muk Tai Street as proposed in the document. In the future, if
Muk Tai Street could provide appropriate terminal facilities for Routes
20 and 20A, the company would actively reconsider the suggestion;
(ii) regarding the fare of Route 20A, as buses on this route would pass by
Olympic Garden Roundabout between Kai Tak and West Kowloon
Station, the routing was different from that of Route 20, making a
detour from the congested areas of Route 20. Also, the number of
stops were fewer, thus making the journey faster and travelling time
stable. The fare was also lower than that specified in the scale set by
the Government; and
(iii) regarding the proposal to arrange buses of Route 22 for passing
Renfrew Road, the company would actively negotiate with TD.
205. Ms WONG Sau-kuen of KMB replied as follows:
(i) The change in the routing of Route 41 would indeed impact half of the
residents travelling from Sham Shui Po to Ho Man Tin or Kowloon
City. However, as an alternative, Route 6C provided buses running
at an interval of 9 to 12 minutes. As a result, the waiting time was
much shorter than the 30 minutes of Route 41.
(ii) he took note of Members' request for redistributing vehicles from
Route 41 to Route 6C so as to shorten the waiting time of residents.
At present, the alternative routes included Routes 6C, 6F, 45 and 18.
During peak hours, there was still ample space to carry commuters
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previously riding on buses of Route 41. KMB would continue to
keep in view these routes as before and make adjustments as and when
necessary;
(iii) he understood that residents might have concerns about reduced
services resulted from the arrangement of Routes 6C and 6X sharing
the same batch of buses, but Route 6X was provided mainly for the
purpose of inflating the number of buses from 3 to 7 during afternoon
peak hours to meet the need of commuters. He emphasised that this
arrangement had no impact on the frequency of Route 6C; and
(iv) regarding the routing arrangements for Route 6X, as Route 6C now
travelled from Mei Foo to Sham Shui Po via Castle Peak Road and Tai
Po Road and then to Nathan Road, even if it used the expressway
instead, the driving time required would not vary much from the
original routing with limited stops. Moreover, the section of the
West Kowloon Corridor connecting the flyover at Gascoigne Road
was often obstructed by vehicles entering Cross Harbour Tunnel in
Hung Hom, causing traffic congestion. Therefore, the company
adopted a-limited-stop mode and just erected stops at locations with
more passengers. This arrangement could save the buses from being
blocked by vehicles along roadside. The bus drivers could switch to
fast lanes after loading and unloading passengers at stops. The
travelling time of Route 6X would be about 10 minutes faster than that
of Route 6.
206. Mr Pius YUM drew Members’ attention to the reduction of two bus runs
after Routes 41 and 241X were combined, and he asked for the transfer of the runs to
Routes 18 and 45 an alternative to offset the impact on residents. He also pointed out
that the maximum capacity of each bus was only over one hundred persons. And he
doubted if the alternative route could accommodate the 3 000 passengers affected by
the reduction of buses operating on Route 41 as stated by KMB. He requested KMB
to promise to transfer the two bus runs to Routes 18 and 45 respectively and consider
the residents' opinions upon consultation by Members later. In addition, he pointed
out that the routing went through Sham Shui Po along the seashore after the merger.
The residents could only take Route 18 and 45 as Route 6C did not travel past Oi Man
Estate and Ho Man Tin District and this failed to satisfy the needs of the affected
passengers between Ho Man Tin and Sham Shui Po.
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207. Miss Jakki MAK said that TD and the bus company replied that the
passenger capacity of Routes 18, 41 and 45 did not meet the target, so they would not
increase the frequency of the routes. However, the actual passenger demand for these
routes was high but the bus runs were scarce. He felt puzzled about TD and KMB’s
decision of not including the transfer of bus runs in the alternative plan. Since the
relevant arrangements would pose a great impact on the residents of Ho Man Tin
District, he commented that the plan was unacceptable. She asked TD to consult the
opinions of other District Councils and relayed the opinions to this Council.
208. Mr HO Hin-ming added that there was no other public transport connecting
Kai Tak Development Area with Renfrew Road and Junction Road. A section of
Waterloo Road was full of low rise buildings, detached houses and barracks, the
passenger demand for the relevant routes stood low. He could see that TD was
concerned about the interchange discount and so he suggested to shift the discount from
the bus stops at Waterloo Road to the stops at Cornwall Street and Junction Road.
209. Mr Derek FU of TD gave the following replies:
(i) he clarified that the 3 000 passengers affected by the plan concerning
Routes 41 and 241X included the two trips between Sham Shui Po to
Ho Man Tin and Sham Shui Po to Kowloon City;
(ii) Routes 6C and 6F mainly served residents in Sham Shui Po to Kowloon
City District while Routes 18 and 45 allowed passengers travelling
between Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City to do the interchange of
buses. The Department was clear about the views of Members on the
relevant routes and was currently consulting with various district
councils on the proposal. A reply would be issued to Members after
the consultation. And Members would also be informed about the
decision on the implementation of the plan; and
(iii) he took note of the opinions of Mr HO on diverting the routing of Route
22 to Renfrew Road. Since Route 22 was currently plying between
Waterloo Road and La Salle Road with the destination at the Festival
Walk, the Department had to take into account the views of different
public transport operators, the operation condition of the bus company
and the affordability of the road sections involved. TD would furnish
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a reply after the study.
210. The Chairman concluded that the Council would wait until the provision of
new information by TD to Members via the Secretariat before coming to the decision
of further discussing about the plan or to giving support to it.
Concern about the Progress of Recommissioning the Ferry Service between Hung
Hom and Central
(Paper No. 29/20)
Request for Providing a Ferry Route Plyng between Ma Tau Kok Public Pier in
Kowloon City and Wan Chai Public Pier
(Paper No. 30.20)
211. Dr KWAN Ka-lun introduced Paper No. 29/20.
212. Dr LAI Kwong-wai introduced Paper No. 30/20.
213. Mr Eric CHE, Chief Transport Officer / Planning / Special Duties of TD,
said that in response to the community's call for increasing ferry services within Hong
Kong and the proposal for providing water taxis service in line with the Development
Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry, TD invited tenders for licensed ferry
service from Central to Hung Hom and water taxis service between 13 December 2019
and 24 January 2020. Subsequently, more than one tender was received when the
tendering process was closed. At present, the process entered its last stage and hence,
all related information about the tenders could not be revealed. TD would, however,
announce the outcome as soon as possible. Depending on the results of the tender, the
services of ferries plying between Central and Hung Hom and the water taxi service
were expected to commence in the first half and second half of this year respectively.
As for the reply to Paper No. 30/20, please refer to Document No.10 tabled, further
information was to be add at the moment.
214. Dr KWONG Po-yin said that the resumption of the Hung Hom to Central
ferry services had been discussed since 2018 and the matter dragged on. She hoped
that TD would commit to commission the service in the first half of 2020 as scheduled.
215. Mr KWAN Ka-lun asked TD whether the resumption of the service was
affected by the epidemic.
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216. Mr LAI Kwong-wai suggested that TD should conduct an assessment of the
passenger demand for the ferry service between Ma Tau Kok Public Pier in Kowloon
City and Wan Chai Public Pier, and consider the operational and financial feasibility.
It was believed that hardware facilities of piers and safety issues of the terminal could
meet the requirements. Earlier on when the Cross Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom was
damaged, a temporary ferry route was provided. It was also pointed out that road
traffic was very heavy during peak hours, and the commissioning of TML was also
deferred. In light of this, it was unreasonable for the Department to decline to the
operation of the ferry routes with this reason, and he requested TD to make further
studies.
217. The Chairman expressed his view that even if the Department refused to
operate the ferry route from Ma Tau Kok Public Pier in Kowloon City to Wan Chai
Public Pier, the actual survey data, such as studies on habits of the public to take
transport or information on market demand, should be provided to this Council as proof.
218. Mr Eric CHE of TD said that the re-commissioning work of the ferry route
between Hung Hom and Central was not affected by the epidemic and the Department
still scheduled to start the service in the first half of this year. In addition, at present,
it was not possible to provide the data requested by the Chairman at the moment. If
the relevant information was found available after the meeting, it would be presented.
A Substantial Increase in the Parking Charges at Kowloon City Plaza by Turning
the Monthly Parking Spaces into Hourly Parking Spaces
Request for the Involvement of the Department to Address the Problem of
Congestion Caused by Illegal Parking in the District
Request for Searching Lands to Construct Multi-storey or Underground Car
Parks As Soon As Possible
(Paper No. 31/20)
219. Mr NG Po-keung introduced Paper No. 31/20.
220. Ms Christine LUK of TD said that the Planning Department (PD) had
provided a written reply in relation to the proposal of constructing a multi-storey or
underground car park. The Department did not have supplementary information to
provide presently.
221. Mr HO Hin-ming was dissatisfied that PD had shifted the responsibility of
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the reconstruction of the Kowloon City Municipal Services Building and the
construction of an underground car park at Carpenter Road Park to FEHD and other
departments. He stressed that PD should be responsible for the planning work, and
then the relevant departments should make follow-ups. Mr HO suggested to invite the
relevant departments to attend the next meeting to discuss this.
222. Mr NG Po-keung said that currently there were about 50 to 70 car rental
spaces in the plaza. If these parking spaces were rented on an hourly basis, some
tenants of these parking spaces would be compelled to park their vehicles on the street,
aggravating the congestion. He asked if TD had made assessments and formulated
contingency measures pertaining to the situation.
223. Ms Christine LUK of TD said that the Department was maintaining close
contact with the owners on the redevelopment plan of Kowloon City Plaza, but in the
meantime, there was no regulation governing the charging mode of the public car park.
The relevant land lease provisions only set limit on the number of parking spaces
provided. No matter rentals were paid on a monthly or hourly rate, the public could
still use these parking spaces.
224. Mr NG Po-keung reiterated that the illegal parking problem in the old
district of Lung Shing was serious and asked whether TD had other contingency
measures to deal with the problem arose if the batch of vehicles renting parking spaces
monthly were forced to park on the street.
225. Mr HO Hin-ming proposed to continue to discuss the matter and invite PD,
FEHD and LCSD to attend the meeting to study the related issues.
226. Mr Pius YUM believed that further discussion was meaningful only when
PD, FEHD and the relevant departments accepted invitations and joined meetings.
Otherwise, efforts would be in vain to go on with the discussion.
227. Ms Christine LUK of TD said she noticed that the traffic assessment report
indicated that vehicles were parked at the plaza for shopping activities when the owner
concerned applied for the redevelopment of Kowloon City Plaza earlier on. The
assessment projected that such vehicles would reduce after the demolition of the
shopping mall. The report also showed that the existing parking spaces in the area
could cope with the demand of vehicles.
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228. Mr NG Po-keung pointed out that the comments of the Department were
extracted from the report of the owner of Kowloon City Plaza, but he received a lot of
feedback from residents and car owners in the district, who stated that many people
living in the area and patronising the nearby markets would use the parking spaces in
the plaza. He hoped that TD would look at the situation itself, rather than relying on
the data provided by the owner.
229. Mr HO Hin-ming said that no further discussion would be held if the
departments concerned did not send representatives to attend the meeting and
discussion about all agendas items would depend on the presence or absence of
representatives in the meetings, and this logic made him feel strange. He asserted that
this issue should be discussed again. And the Public would see the improperness of
the Department should it fail to designate staff to attend the meetings.
230. The Chairman concluded that the Department’s written reply did not satisfy
Members and he instructed the Secretariat to invite officials of PD to attend the meeting
for further explanation. He believed that the matter should be discussed further or not
hinge on the replies of the Department.
Censure against the Chairman of TTC Mr LEE Hin-long for Abuse of Power
(Paper No. 33/20)
231. The Chairman stated that since the discussion on agenda item 32 directly
targeted at him, he would withdraw from the meeting and the Vice Chairman Mr Joshua
FUNG would take over his role.
232. The Deputy Chairman stated that the Secretariat received the document for
moving the motion on 11 March this year, which did not meet the requirement of the
standing orders of the Kowloon City District Council that the “relevant papers shall be
issued to members five clear working days before the meeting”. However, he could
understand that Members strongly wished to express opinions on the incident and time
for drafting a motion was required, so he approved the discussion of the motion at this
meeting.
233. Mr YANG Wing-kit presented Paper No. 33/20 and said that due to the rush,
the Chinese character for the word “censure” was wrongly written and hereby revised.
234. Mr HO Hin-ming added that in Paper No. 32/20, the words "rumors" and "it
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was rumoured that" were used many times, indicating that the incident was only a
hearsay and was not confirmed anyway. He was of the view as the incident was not
proven to be true, nor did it happen in Kowloon City District, it should not be discussed
in this Council. The insistence of the Chairman on discussing it could be considered
as an abuse of power.
235. Mr Pius YUM pointed out that at the 18th meeting of TTC under the
Kowloon City District Council held on 23 October 2014, agenda item 18 was
"Opposition to MTRCL's Subsidy for Multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements
and Call for Immediate Cancellation of the Lok Ma Chau Concessionary Travel
Scheme". He said that meetings proceeded smoothly in the past and issues related to
other districts were accepted as discussion items by the then Chairman. Even cross-
border concessions were on the list of discussion. MTRCL also sent staff to attend the
meeting. He commented that the Chairman had already evinced that the Vice
Chairman would preside over the discussion of this agenda item and obviously, there
did not exist the problem of the same person acting as the football player, referee and
goalkeeper. He supplemented that the Chairman definitely had the right to raise a
topic for discussion. Moreover, Prince Edward Station was indeed a transportation
hub and a transfer station of MTR. The live broadcasts and online footages of the 7.21
and 8.31 incidents were available for viewing. And he felt angry that some members
still claimed that these were rumours. Moreover, the suspension of the rail service at
Prince Edward Station did affect residents in Kowloon City District. In consideration
of this, he did not agree that the Council was at no position to discuss the issue and the
Chairman should not submit the paper in question.
236. Mr YANG Wing-kit pointed out that the paper quoted by Mr Pius YUM
was obviously related to transport issues, he believed any member had the right to
submit papers centering on such issues. And he would not raise queries if papers
submitted concerned matters about transport in the district. However, the theme of
Paper No. 32/20 obviously focused on security matters. Thus, he sent an email to the
Chairman earlier on to remind him to consider the appropriateness of discussing the
paper in this meeting. The Chairman in the end maintained his own views and
approved the discussion of the item at the meeting he chaired. He also stated that no
problem was there if the discussion was presided by the Vice-Chairman because he
would withdraw from the meeting. Nevertheless, the act of the Chairman granting
approval was an abuse of authority, which was deemed unacceptable by him. The
content of the paper was crystal clear, and if the Member concerned insisted that the
document was a traffic issue, he could say nothing despite that he was sure it was a
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security matter. He would like to say that the discussion of matters that happened in
other districts was not necessarily banned, so long as they were related to the matter of
transport. He had voiced out that the Chairman in so doing meant an abuse of power.
He was in no way just and fair as a chairman, and hence, he requested a motion of no
confidence against Mr LEE.
237. Mr HO Hin-ming said that the paper tabled by Mr YUM bore on a
substantive policy, not a rumor. He reiterated that he only quoted the content of Paper
No. 32/20, which used the words "rumors" and "it was rumoured that", and so these
were not raised by him.
238. As no Member gave further discussion on this, the Deputy Chairman
proceeded to put the motion to vote and the voting results were as follows:
Support : 5 votes Mr YANG Wing-kit, Mr CHEUNG King-fan,
Mr HO Hin-ming, Mr NG Po-keung, Mr LAM
Tak-shing
Objection : 14 votes Dr KWONG Po-yin, Mr MA Hei-pang,
Dr KWAN Ka-lun, Mr Daniel WONG,
Mr YEUNG Chun-yu, Mr TSANG Kin-chiu,
Mr SIU Leong-sing, Miss Jakki MAK,
Mr KWOK Tin-lap, Mr Pius YUM
Miss CHAU Hei-man, Mr LAI Kwong-wai,
Mr WONG Wing-kit, Mr Joshua FUNG)
Abstention : 0 vote
239. The Deputy Chairman announced that the motion was not passed.
240. Mr YANG Wing-kit expressed that he respected the decision made by
Members but he thought it was meaningless to discuss the contents of Paper No. 32/20
and thus, he withdrew from the meeting as a sign of protest.
Discussion Item: The Incident of Assaults Occurred at Prince Edward MTR
Station on 31 August 2019 and on the Early Morning of the Following Day and
Relevant Issues
(Paper No. 32/20)
241. The Deputy Chairman invited the member tabling the Paper to present it.
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242. The Chairman responded to the wording of “rumours” used by Mr HO Hin-
ming just now, and said that he tabled Paper No. 32/20 owing to the spread of rumors
and the evidence of public doubts. The 8.31 incident took place at a major railway
interchange station and this would probably trigger post-traumatic stress disorder to
residents in the neighborhood and even Hong Kong people, making them less eager to
take MTR, and therefore, he asked MTRCL for clarification. He stated that MTR, as
a listed company and with the Government as the sole shareholder, was responsible for
explaining to the Council the course of the 8.31 incident. He said that people living
in the district and near the train bridge would transfer at Prince Edward Station to get
to other areas. At present, he was making a humble request, and just hoped that MTR
would release the footages recorded that day. If this involved privacy issues, computer
technology could be applied to cover the face of passengers. He also said that the
Government had lost the trust of people, and MTRCL which was wholly owned by the
Government, was no longer be trusted by the public. Therefore, MTRCL should
provide the footages to clear public doubts. If MTRCL failed to provide the relevant
footages, he planned to ask the Deputy Chairman to resume the discussion of this item
at the next meeting. He thanked MTRCL for designating representatives to attend the
meeting for this agenda item. And he hoped that MTRCL would account for the
incident to the general public and the Kowloon City District Council.
243. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL said that the company well understood that Hong
Kong citizens and the Council were deeply concerned about the incident that took place
at Prince Edward Station on the night of 31 August last year and could perceive the
seriousness of the incident. MTRCL also attended a meeting of the Subcommittee on
Matters Relating to Railways under the Legislative Council that happened in December
last year and a meeting of Yau Tsim Mong District Council in January this year to
answer enquiries and concerns of Members and the community on the arrangement of
rail services and related matters when large public events took place. Prince Edward
Station was situated in Yau Tsim Mong District. As the Police and the Independent
Police Complaints Council had launched an investigation into the incident, and the
Court was also handling litigations related to the incident. Taking into account of
relevant legal factors, MTRCL would only provide closed-circuit television footages to
the personnel or institutions authorised by established procedures to prevent any
disruption to the investigation and related legal procedures.
244. Miss CHAU Hei-man said that after the incident of Prince Edward Station
on 31 August 2019, MTRCL had closed Prince Edward Station for two days until 2
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September. The public was very concerned about what had happened, and she
supported Mr LEE Hin-long’s suggestion of discussing the incident, which stirred up
worries of the residents in the district about the safety of taking MTR. She believed
that MTR, as a service provider, should ensure the safety of passengers. However, at
Prince Edward Station on 31 August, though law enforcement officers used force
against passengers, MTRCL was incapable of preventing the incident and ensuring
public safety. The corporation was also unclear about the whereabouts of passengers
include residents of Kowloon City District and other districts afterwards. She
believed that, being a service provider, MTRCL had the responsibility to relieve public
concerns and restore passengers’ confidence. Therefore, she believed that MTRCL
should disclose the incident to the public.
245. Miss Jakki MAK pointed out that the incident at Prince Edward Station that
happened on 31 August 2019 had implications on the residents of Kowloon City District
and all Hong Kong citizens. She said that a citizen who had brought a child to a nearby
MTR station that day felt very upset that they would be attacked on arrival at Prince
Edward Station. To this day, the citizen was still very worried about the possible
danger when taking MTR. It was pointed out that the incident reduced the confidence
of the residents of Kowloon City District and the people of Hong Kong in taking MTR.
He hoped that MTRCL would release the videos of CCTV recorded on the day
concerned and reiterated that the citizens had the right to know the truth.
246. Mr KWOK Tin-lap said that many questions still remained unanswered since
the 8.31 incident. The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute conducted an
investigation on the incident in October last year, and the results indicated that 48% of
the respondents believed that some people were battered and killed consequently. If
MTRCL and the Police wished to clear the rumours, the simplest way was to make
public the CCTV footages taken that day. He believed that the Police deliberately
drove the reporters away during the operation on 31 August, and as a result, reporters
could not record the situation. To dispel public doubts, the footages recorded that day
should be made public so as to allow the public to make their own judgments. He
knew many residents and volunteers dared not take MTR since the 8.31 incident
because MTR was unwilling to give an explanation. Also, some people resorted to
take relatively drastic actions against MTRCL. In view of this, the best way to resolve
the problem was to hand out the CCTV footages.
247. Mr Daniel WONG thanked MTRCL staff for attending the meeting, but he
commented that MTRCL's reply was totally unacceptable. According to the current
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legislation, the Court accepted the broadcast of CCTV clips or videos played on public
platforms during trials, and whether they would be accepted as evidence depended on
their evidentiary value and the existence of biases, as well as whether the prosecution
and the defense parties had good reasons to ask for the playing of clips or videos. He
pointed out that the paper mainly requested MTRCL for releasing the clips of CCTV to
the public, and yet MTRCL refused to disclose them on the grounds that the Court was
presently proceeding with the litigations and investigation related to the cases on 31
August. However, most of the current cases were initiated by young people against
the Police and CCTV footages were produced as evidence of the allegations. The
public feel worried that the Police had abused their powers and committed illegal acts
on that day. Therefore, they did not believe that the Police would announce the
investigation results. According to common law concepts, whether the trials could be
conducted in a fair and just manner counted on the evidence produced, but people
currently felt doubtful about those with public power could carry out an investigation
in a fair and impartial manner or not, and Hong Kong people easily questioned the
upholding of the rule of law in Hong Kong. Bearing this in mind, it became
unacceptable for MTRCL to refuse the release of the footages with the reason of court
proceedings and investigation in progress. If MTRCL really had a sense of
responsibility towards Hong Kong people, it should let them know the truth of matters.
248. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu remarked that the Police’s refusal of making public
the CCTV footages on the grounds of court proceedings and investigation in progress
was absolutely groundless. Taking the case of seven police officers in the past as an
example, the effectiveness of using CCTV clips to bring criminals to justice with video
images as evidence was clear. Likewise, Pok Oi Hospital also released the clips of
policemen beating an elder in a lift. He believed that there was no conflict between
the release of videos and such videos becoming court exhibits. Moreover, since the
8.31 incident, on the 31st day of each month, there were people clustering at Prince
Edward Station to pay tribute to the missing persons. The station was under the
management of MTRCL, but the Police managed to use different excuses to drive away
and beat up people there. He opined that holding memorial service was only a humble
way of expressing emotions. MTRCL should be responsible for cleaning work and
stop the Police from acting beyond authority to enforce the law. He hoped that
MTRCL could tolerate people’s memorial activities.
249. The Chairman added that even though he was at risk of being accused of
acting beyond his authority, he would continue to push MTRCL to publicise the CCTV
footages concerned via different channels because the Police had issued a Letter of
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Objection to the peaceful march on 31 August. And most of the participants left by
MTR did pay full fare when taking the train. Yet since the official Chinese media
reported the news about the evidence on 17 August, MTRCL changed its attitude. He
queried if MTR still remained as a railway system serving the people of Hong Kong
He said that he was just making a very humble request, i.e., to explore the truth of the
incident. He reassured that he would not give up the motivation to pursue the truth
from MTRCL.
250. Mr Pius YUM said that the allegations of 8.31 were very serious. Since the
incident had happened, most people named MTRCL the "Party Railway". If MTRCL
wished to get rid of the accusation, it should clarify everything openly rather than
conceal the facts, lest the public would claim that it intentionally harboured the Police
and covered up their acts. He also pointed out that MTRCL's prestige was rather bad.
To restore public opinion and reputation, MTRCL should release CCTV footages.
Hence, he supported the further discussion of this agenda item and he insisted to expose
the truth of the 8.31 incident, based on the motto: “five demands, not one less”.
251. Mr LAI Kwong-wai hoped that MTRCL would release the CCTV clips to
prove that the 8.31 death incident was only a rumor as the public was so eager to know
the truth. In addition, Mr Daniel WONG stated that MTRCL's reason for refusing to
make available the CCTV footages was simply an excuse. He advised MTRCL to be
open and honest and hand out the footages to present the truth. He supported the
continued discussion of this agenda.
252. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL gave the following reply:
(i) MTRCL noted the severity of the incident at Prince Edward Station that
night. MTRCL had provided CCTV screenshots in a press release
publicised on 10 September last year. MTRCL was trying its best to
strike a balance between public concern and the usual procedures of
handling CCTV footages;
(ii) the footages concerned was already submitted to the relevant
departments concerned and law enforcement agencies to facilitate the
investigation. Since the legal proceedings had commenced, MTRCL
deemed inappropriate to make public the CCTV clips in an effort to
avoid causing impact to the court procedures; and
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(iii) Thank were expressed to Members. Mr Tsang’s views were noted and
would be relayed to the management staff of MTRCL. He also hoped
that Members would give allowance to the usual practices of MTRCL,
i.e. videos would only be handed to authorised persons.
253. Mr Daniel WONG criticised that MTRCL’s response was meaningless. He
did not see the need of striking a balance in this matter. MTRCL should regard public
concern and public interest as the prime consideration. The public was currently
highly concerned about whether there was an abuse of power of law enforcement
agencies, misuse of violence or application of inappropriate procedures. If the
relevant agencies did handle and investigate the cases in accordance with the law, they
should broadcast CCTV clips on public platforms. He highlighted that the approach
would not affect the court proceedings. Instead, it could make people believe that the
investigation was conducted in a reasonable, justified and legal manner. In addition,
MTRCL stated that footages would only be passed to authorised persons. Generally
speaking, this was the usual way of doing. However, if the authorised persons were
killed in the incident, there would never be authorised persons putting up the request.
Based on this understanding, the public was the authorised person, and Members were
in hope of doing something for the public. He perfectly understood the plight of MTR
representatives, but reiterated it was hoped that MTRCL representatives would
elaborate to the management the views of Members. Any failure to cooperate would
only make people suspect that MTRCL tried to cover up the incident.
254. Miss Jakki MAK said that many people did not have confidence to take
MTR again because they were upset by the incidents. She believed that although
MTRCL stated that it was unable to disclose CCTV footage since the legal procedures
had commenced. However, she held the view that the public should have the right to
know, and so she hoped that representatives from MTRCL would reflect the relevant
opinions to people at the management level. She supported the further discussion of
the agenda item.
255. Mr SIU Leong-sing pointed out that MTRCL should not only deal with the
incident by means of public relations. It should earnestly disclose the videos to reflect
the truth. He said that if MTRCL kept defending the police, even more public
relations skills could not help settle the matter.
256. Mr KO Tin-lai of MTRCL said that the company was aware of the deep
concern of Hong Kong people about the Prince Edward Station incident and that some
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Members would find the reply of MTRCL unacceptable. Withstanding this, he
thanked Members for their comments and reassured that he would try his best to convey
the views of Members to the company.
257. The Deputy Chairman stated that as quite a number of members suggested
to discuss this item in the next meeting, and so he announced that the discussion on it
would be continued in the next meeting.
Any Other Business
258. The Chairman expressed thanks to members for their trust in him, and
resolve to veto the motion forwarded in respect of agenda item 32, he would continue
to preside over the committee's meetings in strict accordance with the Standing Orders
and usual meeting procedures in the future.
Date of Next Meeting
259. The Chairman declared that the next meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on
23 April 2020 (Thursday). There being no other business, the Chairman declared
that the meeting was adjourned at 9:16 p.m.
260. The minutes of this meeting were confirmed on 2020.
__________________________ __________________________
Chairman Secretary
Kowloon City District Council Secretariat
May 2020
