The photograph published in your paper (February 8) with a caption 'slow-coach service' was not telling the full story of the bus service at Sheung Tak Estate in Tseung Kwan O. To our understanding, the photograph of people queuing for bus route 296A at Sheung Tak Estate was taken at the morning peak hour. One important fact which the photograph could not tell was that the queue was moving reasonably fast and that two buses of route 296A were boarding passengers simultaneously using another double-width bay. Surveys conducted by the Transport Department on January 14 and 18 revealed that the average waiting time of passengers for KMB route 296A at Sheung Tak Estate in the morning peak hours was about three minutes, with a range of two to eight minutes. At certain times, the buses left the terminus 30 per cent empty, as some passengers chose to wait for the following buses for a preferred seat. The department is fully aware of the peak-hour transport need of Sheung Tak residents. These improvements have been made in recent months: Four frequency improvements on KMB route 298A to Kwun Tong; Introduction of two morning-peak cross-harbour bus routes in November last year to Central (KMB route 693) and to Chai Wan (New World First Bus route 694); Conversion of route 694 to provide whole-day service in January; Addition of two more trips on route 693 in the morning and provision of service back from Central in the evening in January; Re-routing of KMB route 296A via Kwun Tong Underpass and Ngau Tau Kok MTR Station on February 1 to provide a more convenient link to the MTR and avoid the congested part of Kwun Tong, further improving the efficiency and the reliability of the service. The Transport Department will continue to monitor the demand for, and supply of, public transport for the Sheung Tak area, and will introduce further service improvements as warranted by demand. ERNEST LEE for Commissioner for Transport
