I do not think the Commissioner for Transport (letter headlined 'Feedback monitor', South China Morning Post, March 29) recognises how serious the problem of broadcasting on buses is. Time and again your readers and columnists (for example, 'Cacophony cripples commuting', 'Monitor' column, Post Business, April 3) have reflected that little action has been taken by the bus companies to rectify the problem. We have also challenged KMB to back up its claim that 84 per cent of the passengers desire the low-quality programmes, but to no avail. Citizens Party, for instance, has conducted its own survey and found that less than 50 per cent of the respondents replied 'no' to the question 'Do you think broadcasting on buses should be stopped?' Meanwhile, I suffered another dose of unbearably noisy TV infomercial broadcasting on a bus; this time on KMB route 85M, at 10.30pm, on March 26. It was so loud that the minute I boarded the bus, I could hear the noise in the driver's area. I went upstairs, took a seat about five rows from the back, plugged my discman on, turned it up to the highest volume, and still could hear the broadcasting. I went back downstairs, asked the driver (Shek Chu-ki, number supplied to the Post) to turn down the volume. He said that there was nothing he could do. I asked him if that meant it was the lowest broadcasting volume; he replied yes. If what he said was true, that means the lowest volume of broadcasting on the bus was so loud that I could not even block out the noise with a discman at full volume. Regarding the survey, I would like KMB to respond. Regarding the noise level, I would like the Environmental Protection Department, the Transport Department, the Transport Advisory Committee and Legislative Councillor Miriam Lau to inform us what action they will take - besides 'asking' KMB to look into the issue - if the bus company continues to ignore passengers' complaints. I would also like the Consumer Council to advise me what, I, as a consumer expecting safe and quiet bus journeys, can do when the bus companies compromise their customers' travelling safety and torture captive passengers with excessive levels of noise pollution. Lastly, anyone wanting to register their vote on broadcasting on buses can fill out a very short questionnaire on Citizens Party's Web site ( www.citizensparty.org ). CATHERINE NG Vice-Chair Citizens Party
