Plea for patience as new public transport search engine launched
The Transport Department launched the city's first universal online public transport route search engine yesterday, but it is not very user-friendly.
Unlike the simple and easy route search interface provided by bus operators on their own websites, the Public Transport Enquiry Service at ptes.td.gov.hk does not allow users to perform the search by entering both the origin and the destination on the same page at the same time, it must be done one at a time and users must click through five pages before route options can be displayed.
The search engine is also unable to find routes to remote destinations such as Po Toi Islands, even though there are regular ferry services.
Tsang King-man, the department's assistant commissioner for technical services, said the website was a pilot version and had room to improve, but he asked that people be patient as Hong Kong had the world's most complicated public transport system. 'We have at least eight kinds of transportation and more than 1,000 franchised bus and minibus routes,' he said.
'It is about the most complicated system in the world.'
Red minibus services were excluded from the website, as they were not regulated by the government and some red minibus routes changed frequently.
The search engine is the first phase of a long-awaited transport intelligence system aimed at helping tourists and locals travel throughout Hong Kong on public transport.
Mr Tsang said the department would look at erecting computer panels at popular tourist spots and people could also use the service through mobile phones as many tourist locations were covered by Wi-fi services.
A trial on the website unveiled problems.
It gave the fastest option for a journey from Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom and Central as a bus and MTR journey, excluding ferries - which many commuters are likely to agree, is not the fastest option. The system cannot offer alternatives, either, if you type a location incorrectly, even if that means just an 's' at the end of the word polytechnic.
Sam Pang Tak-shing, chairman of think-tank ITS Hong Kong, said the system - despite its imperfections, was a leap forward for Hong Kong.
The department said it would launch two other intelligent transport features - an online navigation guide for drivers and an electronic database of Hong Kong roads -later this year.
