'Govt to carefully review bus fare increase requests'

RTHK：Video News

Transport Secretary Lam Sai-hung on Tuesday said the government will carefully review fare increase requests from bus operators before making any decisions. KMB and New Lantao Bus are asking for 6.5 percent increases, while Citybus wants to put fares up by 9.5 percent. "We’ll consider several factors, starting with how the public feels about it and the bus companies’ financial figures. We’ll also look at the services the bus operators offer. We will strictly play our gatekeeping role," Lam told reporters after attending a transport event. Lam added that officials will gather opinions from legislators and the general public as well as the Transport Advisory Committee, based on the existing mechanism. Legco's panel on transport is set to begin discussions on the matter on Friday. Meanwhile, Lam also said implementing time-varying tolls for the Tai Lam Tunnel would be one of the many viable options when the government takes control of the infrastructure in May. He said he hopes to present Legco the amendments to the tunnel's regulations by the end of this year and promised that the tunnel's tolls will be much lower than they are now.