'Bus franchise system should be changed'
RTHK
Excerpt
June 13, 2021
The Democratic Party, which has no representative joining the upcoming Legislative Council discussion about bus franchises, on Sunday called on the government to stop its piecemeal approach to saving worsening yet ever more costly bus services.
The Chief Executive approved a rise in bus fares in March to cover the operators’ huge losses in recent years, and bus companies have also reduced services and routes to save money.
The party pointed out that these approaches could lead to a “vicious cycle”, whereby less people will be travelling by bus due to inconvenience, leading to even more routes being cut.
“That is a very imminent problem that we are facing. The bus companies could run out of cash very soon, and services will be deteriorating in a matter of maybe a few years,” the party’s chairman Lo Kin-hei said.
He also pointed out that bus companies are facing huge competition from expanding railway lines.
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https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone...4-20210613.htm