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What Hong Kong bus drivers need is better work conditions

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Long queues of buses on Nathan Road in Mong Kok, amid a work-to-rule protest by drivers against the Transport Department’s failure to remove guidelines that can lead to 14-hour shifts. Photo: Felix Wong
Franchised bus operators in Hong Kong have taken action to improve safeguards following several serious accidents, including involving double-deckers in Sham Shui Po last September and then in Tai Po on February 10, the city’s deadliest in nearly 15 years.
Issues such as the long shifts of bus drivers, their temperament and the need for speed limits were raised in the wake of those tragedies. Against this backdrop, KMB has called on the government to subsidise a raft of technological initiatives.
KMB staff observe a moment of silence in tribute to the victims of the bus crash in Tai Po, at the Star Ferry Pier bus terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui on February 12. At least 19 people died and 65 others were injured when a KMB bus No 872 flipped onto its side while negotiating a turn on February 10. Photo: Nora Tam
KMB staff observe a moment of silence in tribute to the victims of the bus crash in Tai Po, at the Star Ferry Pier bus terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui on February 12. At least 19 people died and 65 others were injured when a KMB bus No 872 flipped onto its side while negotiating a turn on February 10. Photo: Nora Tam

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It is great to have hi-tech systems in place to ensure driving quality, and this can definitely improve road safety. Technological safeguards listed by KMB in its submission to the Independent Review Committee on Hong Kong’s Franchised Bus Service, appointed in March following the tragedy in Tai Po, include electronic stability programmes to reduce the risk of skidding and rollovers, and speed-limiting devices, as well as an anti-drowsiness system to detect if drivers are fully alert. New World First Bus and Citybus are also considering this measure.
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