An average of three minibus passengers a day have been fined over the past three years for not wearing seat belts.
Police statistics show that 3,353 people were prosecuted since August 2004, when a law requiring passengers to buckle up came into effect.
Only 1,840, or 42 per cent of all public light buses in Hong Kong are equipped with seat belts and high back seats.
Both lawmakers and minibus drivers said the number of prosecutions fell far below the number of offenders.
Au Yeung-ming, of the Motor Transport Workers General Union, said a series of accidents involving minibuses over the years had failed to persuade passengers to use seat belts.
'To this day, less than one-fifth of passengers wear seat belts. On some short-haul routes we can't find a single passenger who wears them.'
He said passengers were more likely to use seat belts on long journeys where the minibus travelled faster.