Talk back

Q Should the number of buses be reduced?

It surprises me that the Transport Department, or anyone, can reach the conclusion that reducing the number of buses would improve congestion and pollution. Try catching a bus during rush hour; you will probably wait as two or three packed buses for your route pass. A full double-decker holds scores of people.

Try imagining the effects on congestion and pollution of replacing that one bus with, perhaps, 30 to 60 cars and taxis.

I am sure that there are improvements to be made in efficient arrangement of routes and schedules, and that some of the current fleet could be replaced with cleaner models (whatever happened to the trial of the electric bus?), but surely an overall increase in the number of buses is required.

Allan Dyer, Wong Chuk Hang

Yes of course, it's obvious. Buses are polluting, subsidised through the free use of roads and the publicity they carry.

We have probably the best public transport system in the world, but it is unfortunately ecologically unaffordable.

The whole of the transport system has to be re-evaluated, with the role of the buses reduced to a feeder system to the nearest MTR, not a travel alternative in competition with the MTR. Except during peak hours, most buses are empty moving billboards, blocking the traffic.

Publicity on and in buses should be banned immediately as this subsidises an otherwise unprofitable business.

Buses should pay for the use of the roads they use, to reflect the true cost of this mode of transport.

Private buses serving estates should follow the same thinking: only to and from the nearest MTR.

This should be a matter of top priority.

P. Cremers

Commissioner for Transport Alan Wong Chi-kong tells us that 100 fewer franchised buses on the road out of a total of 5,900 will ease traffic jams and reduce pollution (City, October 21).

Using statistics from the same source, private cars have increased by more than 10,000 since 2001, bringing the total number of cars on the road to 392,000.

On the basis that a bus occupies the same road space as about 2.5 cars, our Transport Department has effectively sanctioned the licensing of the equivalent of more than 4,000 buses!

But forget about congestion; just think of the government's income from first-registration taxes, not to mention fuel duties, for these extra cars. Is this more important than extra road space?

If another of the key issues is pollution, what does our Commissioner for Transport think comes out of the tailpipe of the 120,000 diesel goods vehicles on our roads and does he believe that these private vehicles are maintained to the same standards as the franchised buses?

Given the popularity and flexibility of the bus routes, it would seem strange that Mr Wong wishes to reduce the options available to the travelling public.

Perhaps Mr Wong would be kind enough to tell us what the real agenda is?

Piers Bennett, Happy Valley

Q How can Hong Kong promote safe cycling?

John Tonks, in his attempt to rebut my view that the organisers and cyclists who participated in a race in a public park should accept responsibility for their actions and not blame the government for the misfortune that befell one of them, Mr Tonks (Talkback, Monday) ignores the assertion by Mr Newbury that the government was warned a year in advance of the potential hazard of allowing normal traffic on a narrow winding road when cyclists were racing in both lanes but nevertheless permitted a race to be held.

The clear inference is that if the government had closed the road to normal road users, no accident would have occurred.

The decision in the case against the minibus driver rested on his violation of the law. The fact that no blame was attributed to the cyclist who was killed does not mean that he did not contribute to his own misfortune.

The sarcasm aimed at Mr Newbury does Mr Tonks no credit. A car driver with his head up in a vehicle with good brakes, who has regularly experienced vehicles of all sorts coming round bends on the wrong side of the road, may well have been in a better position to avoid an accident than a cyclist on an unsteady platform with his head down intent on going as fast as possible.

A cycle race on a public road that is not closed to other traffic poses a danger not only to participants but to other road users, including pedestrians. The claim by Mr Tonks that there have been no accidents in the past does not negate this assertion.

Colin Campbell, Mid-Levels

On other matters...

As a regular outer island visitor, I read the article 'Proposed facelift for Mui Wo is finally on table' (City, October 21) with much interest. The related statement by Island District Council vice-chairwoman Chau Chuen-heung caught my eye: 'It was the first concrete step by the government to improve Mui Wo since the Concept Plan for Lantau was disclosed in late 2004.'

Observant readers will have noted Ms Chau's use of the C-word; she is a bit of a concrete fan and would be more than happy if the stunning Shek Pik-Tai O wilderness coast around southwestern Lantau was plastered in the horrible grey stuff ('Lantau needs better road network: DAB', September 27).

Her pitch is that this part of the island desperately needs a road, although I am not sure why, because nobody - bar the old lady in Fan Lau who divvies out free bananas to hikers - lives there. Once she has got that, she'll be going for tower blocks. Discovery Bay West appears to be her real agenda.

Getting back to Mui Wo. Actually Ms Chau, seeing as you appear to have a bit of sway with the government officials, if, when it comes to tarting up the town, you could persuade them to take it easy on the concrete pouring, it might be appreciated by most of the residents and visitors alike.

Like an attractive 'mature' lady with good bone structure, Mui Wo shouldn't need much work to make her look more presentable.

Richard Straw, Happy Valley

I refer to the article, 'Trucks may face ban on reversing in blind alleys, lanes' (October 21) reporting that the Transport Advisory Committee (TAC) noted that trucks could be banned from reversing in lanes or blind alleys following a spate of fatal accidents.

The committee also reportedly said that guidelines should be issued to drivers advising them not to reverse their trucks at more than 5km/h, or they should have an assistant to keep watch while reversing.

Hong Kong Island's urban road system is a maze of narrow roads, winding lanes and blind alleys. I therefore don't think that a ban on reversing of trucks in lanes or blind alleys will be possible. I do agree it is most important that truck drivers keep to a low speed while reversing and preferably with an assistant at all times.

While driving along Shing Tai Road in Chai Wan, I have often been delayed by learner truck and bus drivers practising their reversing manoeuvres and three-point turns.

I have never seen any one of these learner drivers get out of the vehicle to check the area to the rear of the vehicle for hazards before commencing a reversing manoeuvre.

Furthermore, I have never seen an assistant/reversing supervisor being placed outside the vehicle at its right rear corner to guide the driver. I have therefore formed the distinct impression that the training of our learner drivers is far from the best practice to be following.

I use the title 'reversing supervisor' because this externally placed supervisor should be the one who supervises the reversing of the vehicle and not the driver. The supervisor would not just be keeping a lookout to the rear of the reversing vehicle, but would also be signalling to pedestrians and other road users to keep well clear of all danger zones. The reversing supervisor would, at all times, be in full view of the driver. These measures are already in use by franchise bus companies.

Reversing sensors or video cameras usually come with a warning that they cannot provide complete safety for reversing vehicles and hence cannot be relied upon to prevent accidents. Such devices cannot replace the need for a reversing supervisor, especially for large vehicles.

It must be added that safety costs money and that it is a moral and legal responsibility of those concerned with reversing vehicles to ensure adequate safety.

I was therefore disappointed to read that TAC members didn't wish to make it a legal requirement to use an assistant (supervisor) for the purposes of reversing for fear of increasing transport costs.

Rarely do you see trucks being driven with only the driver in the cab. Assistants are needed for loading and unloading, so these spare hands could be trained to become reversing supervisors.

I was further disappointed to read the comment from Eastern District councillor Cheng Lai-king, who feared that it would take too long for the Transport Department to consult the councils and that 'our experience in dealing with transport officials is that they like to drag things out'.

Our officials must not delay and, more importantly, they must not shrink from putting in place the necessary laws, strong enforcement measures and appropriate penalties against non-compliance. Otherwise, more innocent lives will be lost.

Iain Seymour-Hart, Chai Wan