The following is issued on behalf of the Independent Review Committee on Hong Kong's Franchised Bus Service:
The Chairman of the Independent Review Committee on Hong Kong's Franchised Bus Service, Mr Justice Michael Lunn, and Members of the Committee Mr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen and Professor Lo Hong-kam, visited the depots of New World First Bus Services Limited and Citybus Limited, two franchised bus operators, in Chai Wan today (May 24).
During the visit, Mr Justice Lunn, Mr Auyeung and Professor Lo sought to gain a better understanding of the operational management of franchised buses from the point of view of safety, including:
• daily checks and annual inspections of franchised buses to ensure their roadworthiness and safety;
• technical capabilities and use of tachographs and black boxes installed on franchised buses to monitor the driving behaviour of bus captains; and
• the deployment of the fleet of franchised buses by the 24-hour Operations Control Centre.
The Committee was appointed by the Chief Executive on March 13, 2018, following the fatal incident on Tai Po Road on February 10, 2018 and in light of other recent serious incidents involving franchised bus services, to conduct a comprehensive review of the operation and monitoring of franchised buses and to make recommendations on safety-related measures to ensure that franchised bus services in Hong Kong are safe and reliable.