Category: Transport Department

So much for consultation

CIMG3050 - Copy

Protest at road opening plan, July 19

 

Remote as Lantau may seem, you get a sharp view of the workings of Hong Kong. The dysfunction, the cronyism,  the inability to grasp people’s needs – all reveal themselves in microcosm.

So when the Transport Department pre-empts the outcome of its consultation on opening South Lantau roads, that’s an issue for Lantauistas, but it also tells a tale that is reflected across the entire city.

Following a public outcry after the department’s plan to allow an extra 80 vehicles per day was made public, it consented last month to take submissions from community groups. Continue reading →

Govt plan to open S. Lantau roads to non-residents

DSC_0181

Here comes the flood. The Transport Department is planning to open up South Lantau roads to 50 non-resident vehicles and an extra 20 tourist coaches each weekday. According to this story in Sing Tao Daily on Monday, the department said it had come up with the proposal after “reassessing” the current closed road policy.

It doesn’t say what specifically was reassessed. But the government and its developer-centric advisory committee have made clear their determination to overturn decades of conservation and traffic management policies in their pursuit of a vision of “Lantau development” based on mass tourism. The 50-car limit seems to be a trial balloon. Continue reading →

Transport Dept keeps ‘open mind’ on Lantau taxis

Here’s a story about the Transport Department.

When several government agencies and NGOs met in the wake of the deaths of eight cattle on Lantau 18 months ago, the TD sent an official who claimed to be so new that he didn’t have any business cards. Not only could he refrain from taking a position or making any contribution to the discussion, he smartly avoided any possible follow-up.

Here’s another story. The Transport Dept has not issued a single taxi licence in the history of the SAR.

Here’s another. When I interviewed the TD via email early last year about Lantau taxis, their spokesperson said: “We are collecting data to assess the level of taxi services in Lantau Island and will be open-minded on whether to issue additional taxi licences.”

Now, according to the Sun newspaper, the department has finally acknowledged that the blue taxi waiting time is “longer” in peak periods.

Indeed, under prodding from LanDAC, theTD has said it surveyed the Lantau taxi service last year and is now considering whether or not to issue new licences on the basis of “established policy.”

Presumably that is the established policy not to issue any licences at all.

But the department has encouraging words to the LanDAC members who suggested issuing ten ‘trial’ taxi licences.

“We’re keeping an open mind.”

Lantau speed cams coming in Q1

If you’re a Lantau driver you’d be well aware of the 12-feet high speed cameras that have loomed over our roads since early last year.

The Transport Department installed one each in Mui Wo and Pui O and two on Tung Chung Rd, leading to an immediate decline in speeds until drivers realised the orange pillars did not actually contain any monitoring equipment.

That will soon change, the department now says. An official told Lantau Confidential that they are now “under testing” and will be handed over to Lantau police some time in the first quarter.

Police say they haven’t yet had any formal word on activation of the cameras, though they note that the final decision on activating them is a joint one between the police and the TD.

According to the SpeedCameraPOI website, which plots the locations of road traffic cameras worldwide and puts them in a downloadable file, Hong Kong had 51 speed cameras as of April 29 last year.