Following is the transcript of remarks by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting this morning (October 30):
Reporter:… was …for two days on the weekend and that has been criticised by the public for being just …services. Is it time to review the mechanism governing public transport? And what is your take on the travel chaos of the shuttle bus on the Zhuhai-Macao Bridge?
Acting Chief Executive: The problem stems from the fact that it happened on Sunday night with a surge in travellers. On a normal weekday after the opening of the Bridge, only around 35 000 people left Hong Kong. But on that particular Sunday evening, we are talking about 70 000 which is more than double of the normal weekday figure. So, that situation was certainly not satisfactory, undesirable. What's going to happen is that the Transport Department will work closely with the operators to iron out the problem and find a viable solution, and also work in close liaison with the Zhuhai authorities and the Macao authorities as well. We hope that the operator can provide, deploy more buses to tackle the situation if warranted.
Reporter: Can you also respond to the question on MTR as well?
Acting Chief Executive: I know the sentiment of the commuters, and I would urge the MTR to take account of the aspirations and views expressed by the community, commuters in particular, on this special arrangement.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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