LCQ10: Erection of bus shelters

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, in the Legislative Council today (March 20):

Question:
 
     Quite a number of members of the public have pointed out to me that as currently a large number of quite heavily used roadside bus stops do not have any shelters, passengers waiting for buses there have to put up with the scorching heat of the sun or lashing rains. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the respective numbers and percentages of roadside bus stops with and without shelters at present, with a breakdown by District Council district;
 
(2) whether it has issued guidelines to the franchised bus companies on the construction of bus stops with shelters; if so, of the details, and how the Government handles the situation where a bus company has breached such guidelines;
 
(3) of the procedure for vetting and approval of applications for the construction of bus stops with shelters, including which government departments are involved, what items require approval, and the time taken in general;
 
(4) as the construction of shelters for some bus stops is infeasible due to the presence of underground public utilities there, whether the Government has co-ordinated the public utilities companies concerned to make complementary arrangements, so that works for the construction of shelters can be carried out; and
 
(5) of the current number of bus stops with shelters that are fitted with advertising lightboxes, and the percentage of such number in the total number of bus stops; the procedure for the franchised bus companies to apply for the construction of bus stops with shelters fitted with advertising lightboxes?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
      The Government has been encouraging franchised bus companies to enhance the bus stop facilities, including the erection of bus shelters at locations where the geographical environment permitted, for the convenience of passengers and better waiting environment. Our reply to the various parts of Hon Chan Han-pan's question is as follows:
 
(1) The existing number of sheltered bus waiting areas, by District Council district, is tabulated below:
      

 
(2) The Transport Department (TD) has issued guidelines for erection of bus shelters by franchised bus companies. The guidelines stipulate the procedures for application for erection of shelter, relevant technical requirements (such as the required clearance between the shelter and the road carriageway; and sufficient access to be reserved for pedestrians), the design standard of the shelter (such as the standard shelter type to be used under different geographical environments), the requirements for the provision of advertisement panel at sheltered waiting areas (such as sufficient space to be reserved for passenger passage), the requirements of relevant government departments (including the Highways Department, the Drainage Services Department and the Water Supplies Department, etc). According to the guidelines, the franchised bus companies may start the works for erection of bus shelters at the location under application upon obtaining the agreement from the TD. If contravention of the guidelines is found or complaint is received upon completion of the erection of the relevant shelter, the TD will conduct follow-up investigation and request the franchised bus companies concerned to take improvement measures as appropriate, including replacing the shelters with other appropriate designs or removing the advertisement panels.
 
(3) Upon receipt of an application for erection of a bus shelter from a franchised bus company, the TD will, in accordance with the guidelines mentioned above, examine the application and study the possible impacts of the proposed bus shelter on pedestrian flow, the sight of other road users and the merchants nearby. The TD will also consult relevant government departments (including the Highways Department, the Drainage Services Department and the Water Supplies Department, etc) on the details of application. In addition, the TD will consult the local communities through the District Offices. In general, the TD will complete the assessment within three months after the submission of the application from the franchised bus company. After obtaining the approval of the TD, the franchised bus company concerned may then immediately apply to the Highways Department for the excavation permit for the commencement of the works for erecting the bus shelter.
 
(4) In the event that the erection of a shelter is not possible because of the underground utilities at the bus stop, the TD will arrange site meeting with the franchised bus company concerned and relevant government departments as appropriate to discuss the solution, such as slightly shifting the location of the bus shelter and/or the bus stop to avoid the underground utilities, so as to continue the erection works for the shelter as far as practicable.
 
(5) As the advertisement panel is a connected part of a sheltered waiting area, franchised bus companies in general will apply for the provision of advertisement panels, if feasible, at the same time when they apply for erection of bus shelters. The franchised bus companies may also apply to the TD for the provision of advertisement panels at existing sheltered waiting areas. Among the existing sheltered waiting areas erected by franchised bus companies, 802 of them were provided with advertisement panels, which account for about 25 per cent of the total number of sheltered waiting areas. The requirements for the provision of advertisement panels have been covered by the guidelines mentioned in part (2) above while the application procedures are basically the same as those mentioned in part (3) above.
 
Note: Some bus stops would share one shelter.