We would like to thank Paul Surtees for expressing his safety concerns ("Bus passengers deserve safer and comfortable trips", September 13). Safety is KMB's top priority so we naturally agree with your correspondent's views and have in place a number of measures to enforce and enhance safety standards.
When recruiting new bus drivers, besides carrying out driving record checks we conduct an aptitude test with each applicant to ensure he or she has the appropriate mindset. The training programme for our new drivers, which includes operating the bus, defensive driving and route and bus-type training, places great emphasis on safe driving.
With the introduction of a state-of-the-art driving simulator to recreate local traffic environments, road conditions and other drivers' behaviour, the performance and response to different situations of our bus drivers are further enhanced.
We always aim for the best, but occasionally we do notice undesirable driving behaviour that requires further training. To prevent similar traffic accidents recurring, tailor-made safety enhancement training courses are given to bus drivers who are involved in liable traffic accidents.
A 90-minute training programme has also been developed to boost existing bus drivers' defensive skills and awareness, which includes smooth and steady brake and accelerator use.
To underpin a customer-oriented attitude and a safe driving culture, 52 seminars and more than 300 workshops have been conducted in recent years for frontline staff. A database of "Driving tips in special attention areas", the first of its kind in Hong Kong, is available on our staff website to help bus drivers operate our vehicles more smoothly and safely.