01 point of view
Written by: Review Editor
2020-04-09 06:00
Date of last update: 2020-04-09 06:00The epidemic of the New Coronavirus raged. Some companies announced that they were working from home, and the public also reduced their travel. The transportation industry was greatly affected. KMB announced that it will adjust the frequency again. From Monday (6th), 197 routes will be reduced. Some of the bus hours will be cut off during the peak hours, and some late night "N cars" will be cut to one hour. class. Citizens are less likely to go out and the epidemic is still a good thing. However, the reduced number of shifts will cause other workers to explode the bus and increase the risk of virus transmission.
KMB employees wear masks when driving. (Photo by Deng Yongzhong)
Enterprise Survival and Epidemic Prevention
KMB replied to the media that the demand for bus services has remained at a low level in the past few months. Passenger traffic has fallen further in the past two weeks, a 40% drop from the daily passenger volume. KMB described it as "is facing great operational difficulties." When business demand is declining and passenger demand is declining, bus companies may choose to lower operating costs, reduce frequency, and save captains' overtime. In response to the development of the epidemic situation, the number of people in the middle of the night decreases, and it is understandable to reduce the number of "N car" shifts. However, it is difficult to say ideals during peak hours.
Due to different company industries or other factors, not every employee may be able to work at home, so that during the busy hours of commuting, many buses are still full of passengers. Bus cuts during peak hours have made waiting passengers more concentrated, which runs counter to the "maintain social distance" epidemic prevention policy. Earlier, the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Chen Fan, asked the bus company to ensure that each bus carried no more than 70% of passengers. However, the bus driver did not have the right to prevent passengers from boarding the bus under the statutory passenger capacity. The bus frequency was repeatedly reduced due to the operating environment. The 70% requirement for carrying passengers eventually failed. Assuming that the number of passengers will remain the same in the future, and the number of buses will continue to decrease, it is undoubtedly more difficult for the bus to achieve "70% passenger load".
In fact, the calculation method of bus passenger capacity has long been criticized. The authorities calculate the passenger load based on the standard of one square meter for six passengers standing up. When the busiest time reaches 85% of the passenger load in one hour or 100% in half an hour, the Transport Department will require the bus to work overtime. Compared with MTR's expectation of four people standing per square meter, the bus's calculation is undoubtedly too "aggressive", and it is unreasonable to expect the public to wait half an hour before they can be forced into the bus. Under this premise, even if 70% of the passengers who meet Chen Fan's requirements may be the only minimum standards acceptable to society.
197 affected routes
Government-supported business cooperation
In particular, the current epidemic risk is not low, and the government and bus companies should take care of passenger health. At the beginning of March, a patient in Hunan took an air-conditioned minibus and a passenger bus, and as many as 11 passengers were infected with the virus. In a paper uploaded by "Practical Preventive Medicine", the virus was found to be up to 4.5 meters. . Although it may not be feasible to keep everyone at a distance of 4.5 meters on the vehicle, after the cut of the frequency, the scene of passengers exploding and the long queues at the station is really difficult for the public. The government should pressure bus companies to cooperate with epidemic prevention and carefully examine the possibility of carrying passengers at 70% during peak hours. If the bus company proposes a subsidy request, the two can discuss the details again, but they should also maintain service during peak hours first, speed up the flow of people at the station, and reduce the bus passenger density.
In addition, the bus company's encryption schedule, in addition to giving riders more peace of mind, bus drivers with fewer start-ups due to the epidemic can also use this to maintain their income. The subsidy funding is worthy of government research. And bus companies have been operating in Hong Kong for many years, they should also assume the social responsibilities that enterprises should have, share the hardships with Hong Kong people, and do their best to meet the needs of social epidemic prevention.
【New Coronary Pneumonia】 The upper and lower trains explode or become an epidemic crisis
01 point of view
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