TD reminds public transport operators to provide adequate services on first school day
The Transport Department (TD) today (August 25) said that major public transport operators (PTOs) have been reminded to provide adequate services on the first school day (September 1) and enhance service frequencies and deploy standby trains, vehicles, vessels and manpower when necessary to meet passenger demand. Motorists are advised to avoid driving to school areas.
A spokesman for the TD said, "We have sought information from the Education Bureau on the location of new schools and students' cross-district commutes, thereby reviewing the neighbouring traffic and transport arrangements. Special routes serving school areas will be resumed. Local franchised bus operators providing services connecting land boundary control points (BCPs) and cross-boundary coach operators have been reminded to provide adequate services for cross-boundary students. We have requested relevant departments to review road works being or to be carried out on major roads to minimise their impact on traffic at the commencement of the new school year."
Enhanced surveillance
The operation of the TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre (ETCC) will be escalated to the highest tier, the Joint Steering Mode, on the morning of September 1 to jointly and closely monitor the real-time traffic and public transport services on the first school day in collaboration with the Police and major PTOs. Staff will be deployed at major public transport interchanges, stations, school areas (such as Braemar Hill in North Point, Kowloon Tong, Po Kong Village Road in Wong Tai Sin and Kwai Shing Circuit in Kwai Chung), land BCPs and tunnels across the territory for on-site monitoring. They will report the latest situation to the ETCC for service enhancement and implementation of traffic management measures accordingly where necessary.
Appeals
(1) Students should familiarise themselves early with public transport routes to and from their schools and the service frequencies, especially those attending a new school. The TD anticipates that the overall road traffic on that day will be busier and urges students to allow more time and pay attention to the latest traffic information. They should also take heed of road safety on their journeys, properly use crossing facilities to cross the road, and not use a mobile phone, listen to any audio device, play mobile games, eat or drink when crossing the road;
(2) Parents, guardians or private car drivers carrying child passengers should choose and use a suitable Child Restraining Device (CRD), such as a child safety seat, that is appropriate for children's body size and complies with relevant standards for child passengers aged below 8 and less than 1.35 metres in height as soon as possible in the new school year to meet the new statutory requirements with effect from November 1; and
(3) Drivers of nanny vans and school buses should heighten their vigilance and drive carefully. An escort must be provided on board when serving kindergarten or primary school students. Escorts should assist students to wear seat belts if provided, and ensure that they and all students have properly buckled up before departure. Students should never be left unattended in the vehicles.
The TD's ETCC will release the latest information as appropriate. Members of the public are advised to heed the latest traffic news through the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk), the HKeMobility mobile application and radio and television broadcasts. For enquiries, please call the TD's hotline on 2804 2600 or 1823. Details of the PTOs' services are also available on their hotlines and websites:
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