Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation pledges to review registration scheme for carriage of musical instruments
Some musicians call the scheme unnecessary and say it should be scrapped, while others don’t bother to register
The MTR Corporation is set to review its registration scheme for large musical instruments following a four-month trial period, but musicians call the measure“unnecessary” and say it should be eased or scrapped.
The scheme began last November after a month of controversy when young musicians travelling with cellos and other instruments like the guzheng exceeding the maximum dimension of 130cm were asked to leave MTR premises. It allowed those registered to carry larger instruments up to 145cm.
READ MORE: Face the music: Hong Kong’s MTR slammed over policy on carriage of large instruments
“The scheme has been operating smoothly thanks to the cooperation of users and no abuse has been detected so far,”said MTR public relations manager Fiona Lau Pui-pui.
Some 2,150 permits had been issued and “the corporation will conduct a review towards the end of February to evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme and announce the way forward in due course,” she added.
The review, she said, would “consider views relating to the carriage of oversized sporting equipment” based on “the experience and outcome”of the scheme on musical instruments.
But the recent bloody riot would not be considered in the review because “we see no connection whatsoever between the Mong Kok incident and the registration scheme.”
Musicians, professional or otherwise, agreed that commuting on the MTR had been smooth in the past months but for reasons other than the scheme.