Legco transport panel recommends that the length of time spent on the road be reduced from 11 to eight hours per day
Legislators have urged the Transport Department to put pressure on bus companies to cut the number of hours that drivers spend behind the wheel.
The transport panel yesterday passed a motion strongly urging the department to revise guidelines for franchised bus companies, to reduce maximum working hours from 14 to 10 hours per day and time on the road from 11 to eight hours.
It also called for rosters to be announced at least seven days in advance and for drivers to be allowed to take meal breaks at reasonable times.
Although the guidelines are not legally binding, Democrat Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, who moved the motion, said he hoped a revision would help bus firms to 'set a new course'.
However, Liberal Party legislator and transport sector representative Miriam Lau Kin-yee opposed the motion, saying legislators should not interfere with company rosters.
'Rostering is best left for discussion between employers and their employees,' she said. 'It is not for the transport panel to roster shifts for their [company] staff.'