Public transport safety in Hong Kong

by Cheng, Sing-yip

(Uncorrected OCR) Abstract of dissertation entitled Public Transport Safety in Hong Kong submitted by Cheng Sing Yip for the degree of Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning at the University of Hong Kong in June 2004 Despite the recent expansion in railway infrastructure, Hong Kong still relies heavily on the road-based public transport in which the franchised bus carries more than half of total public transport journey. Safety is always an important consideration in the operation of public transport. With the increasing trend of public bus accidents and related casualty, it signals the necessity and urgency for a systematic study of the bus safety improvement measures, with particular reference to the operating environment in Hong Kong. The study aims to obtain the public? opinion of service and safety of the franchised buses, with a particular focus on the users?perception in evaluating the service and safety performance, as well as their expectation on the safety improvement measures required. A review on the current safety measures being taken by the franchised bus companies was carried out. In the survey, a total of 896 questionnaires were completed. Respondents perceived the frequent location of accident on the bus vehicles is on the stairs and the door while the intended improvement area is on the seat and stairs. And they are willing to pay not more than 3 % on the fare to improve the safety services as provided by the franchised bus companies. A general conclusion supported by this study is that the safety improvement on franchised bus should not only fall on the franchised bus companies and Hong Kong SAR Government, the passengers as the users of public transport should also contribute both the financial and cooperation to achieve better safety performance. ii