Taking Prams in the Shuttle Bus

[monaresh]

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to know if there is a policy of inconveniencing residents by MO. Like many other parents I would like to take my baby's pram when I am travelling outside Tung Chung. No big deal except that my pram is quite sturdy and consequently heavier than other brands such as Combi. If I dare to take the shuttle bus then I have to carry it in with myself and not only does it strain me but also adds to the discomfort of other passengers who occupy the first 2 rows of seats (as I need to ask them to kindly let me use the seat).
I once asked the bus driver if I could put it in the luggage compartment situated at the bottom of the bus and he refused.
I got the same reaction from the driver of the CC Club bus operating the Central - Caribbean Coast route.
I am sure there are many parents residing in CC and if they put up with this inconvenience all the time.
All the driver needs to do is flick a button to open the luggage compartment and heavy/bulky items can be easily stored inside.
I wonder if this is a policy from MO or self imposed by the drivers?
Mr. Jeff Lam Yuet - are you listening?

[giantsean]

I can say that I've twice seen them use the cargo areas for transporting what looked to be construction materials on the shuttle bus.  At the estate end there was someone to unload them.  Have a pic somewhere which I will post if I can find... Unfortunately it is just of the open doors... I missed the money shot.  Anyway I have an issue if the MO is using the bus which WE pay for to save them a few bucks.

[charles]

the CC Club Bus to Central should have the luggage compartment available, have not seen any driver refusing to open.

CC shuttle bus has spare paint and chemicals stored in the luggage compartment, as that's the best airconditioned place on the planet. The whole shuttle service is a waste of time, noise and money, but unfortunately we'll have to wait for the service contract to expire. Luggage, prams, even 2 shopping bags makes it hard to board the bus.

Bus horns should also be disabled on the estate (at least). That quick tut-tuut at 5:45 in the morning really is not needed.

[Chejai]

I've put my kids stroller in the luggage compartment of the CC Club shuttle to TST before, a few times actually.  But, like you I've had it refused on the MTR shuttle bus.  Complete pain in the proverbial when I've got two kids in two, one of which needs carrying and a stroller trying to negotiate your way to the back of the bus whilst people huff and puff and you trying to get through.....

A good point for Jeff to raise to MO that luggage compartments should be made available.

Although a better idea would have been to get more suitable buses in the first place rather than these supersqueezed kids size seats that are built for the masses rather than to transport people with baggage.  Never understood why we couldn't get those low riding buses like the ones to DB which have luggage compartments on the front and plenty of space to stand. 

[Oliver]

Although a better idea would have been to get more suitable buses in the first place rather than these supersqueezed kids size seats that are built for the masses rather than to transport people with baggage.  Never understood why we couldn't get those low riding buses like the ones to DB which have luggage compartments on the front and plenty of space to stand. 

There was one bus company offering such buses at the last tender, but they only received two votes.  They were the most expensive... would have probably been a whopping $0.01 extra management fee per square foot per month.  They even had disabled access, which is probably the main reason why they weren't taken up: who would want to wait for a wheel chair to be loaded?  That takes far too long out of our daily commute.

I've also raised the question of the luggage compartment with the MO before.  I was told that the driver would have to get off the bus to supervise the loading of push chairs, bags, etc (I guess to make sure we don't get any illegal stow aways trying to sneak past CC immigration control), which would mean that there'd be no one to supervise people scanning their octopus cards (again, providing a way for those sneaky individuals who have nothing better to do than to abuse our bus service).

[CCCL]

Agree that the current buses are the wrong type for the job. The steps are difficult for the many elderly residents, there is no room for bags etc. And most of the seats are a tight squeeze for anyone above 6' in height. 

I've said before that the shuttle service should not be 'free' - there should be a charge for using it, like $3-$4 per trip, to defray the operating costs.

I beg to differ with those who think the service is not being abused. It is being abused by many non residents commuting to the school in front of CC, by non resident parents taking children to the pre-schools/kindergartens in CC, and by people who work in the bazaar but are not residents. No doubt there are CC residents running scams to provide resident octopus cards to non residents for $$$.

[charles]

absolutely agree, but then the millions saved would also need to reflect in the rents! oh wait ... 

[JEFF LAM YUET]

Hi my friends,

I fully understand your need sice I also have a kid. I have questioned MO before for this issue and there are several concerns we need to take into consideration:

1. Responsibility of lossing valuables
2. Extra time required for all passengers
3. Extra manpower nd costs if required

However, I understand your needs and so I am also thinking ways to overcome the problems. For example, making our buses similar to S56 where it has about 1/4 open space on the bus for standing passengers and language, and making a middle door available, but obviously, it may take effect only when we retender the bus contract. I am also thinking if we should make both routes in one and stop all stops during off-peak hours to free up the A bus capacity, allow phase 2,3,4,5 residents to take bus to the clubhouse, allow phase 1 residents to take bus home after they shop at the mall, etc. You are encouraged to let me know your thought. Thx.

Regards,
Jeff

[Oliver]

... It is being abused by many non residents commuting to the school in front of CC, by non resident parents taking children to the pre-schools/kindergartens in CC, and by people who work in the bazaar but are not residents. No doubt there are CC residents running scams to provide resident octopus cards to non residents for $$$...

I doubt that these abusers affect anyone in CC.  School kids coming to CC in the morning are travelling in the opposite direction to the commuters going to work.  School kids going home in the afternoon are travelling at an off-peak time when I have never seen a full bus.  In comparison to the number of commuters living in CC, the number of people commuting to the CC bazaar must be miniscule and again are travelling against the flow of CC residents.  I'm also well aware of the fact that estate agents (illegally) bring prospective residents to CC on our bus, something I think no one can deny is a very good thing for our economy.  Parents dropping their kids off at kindergarten would, I admit, take the bus back again so would have a (very small) impact on us residents.  Also, it should be taken in to account that school kids spend money in our shops and workers work in them, helping the shops survive which is a good thing for us.

I whole heartedly believe that allowing residents to put suit cases and push-chairs in the luggage compartment far out weighs the tiny expense of allowing a few people to slip through the net and travel for free on our bus.

...
1. Responsibility of lossing valuables
2. Extra time required for all passengers
3. Extra manpower nd costs if required
...
I am also thinking if we should make both routes in one and stop all stops during off-peak hours to free up the A bus capacity, allow phase 2,3,4,5 residents to take bus to the clubhouse, allow phase 1 residents to take bus home after they shop at the mall, etc...

1: Use the luggage storage at your own risk.  I think it would be pretty difficult for someone to run off with another person's suit case or push chair without anyone noticing especially with the driver standing by making sure that no one traps their fingers in the mechanism.
2: This and your suggestion above contradict massively.  If people are concerned with waiting for the time that it takes for one person (the driver) to get off the bus first and back on the bus last in order to facilitate the loading of bulky things, how on earth do you expect them to accept the extra 5-7 minutes it would take adding phase 1 to the already long route B bus?  And doing this in order to facilitate people living in phases 2-5 to go by bus to the club house and phase 1 to go to the bazaar?  Are there really people that lazy?  My three year old can walk all the way back from the MTR to tower 2!  Okay, it takes about 45 minutes for him to do so, but surely this suggestion isn't just to ease the burden of walking on young children.  If, however, the suggestion is to reduce costs; that would be a fine excuse (but it still flies in the face of your 2nd point).
3: No extra manpower required, get the bus driver to supervise.

Having said all that, I have no problem getting on the bus with two push chairs and two small children in tow.  It's the residents that I accidentally hit with the push chairs and my bag that I feel sorry for (well, only a little bit sorry... if they offered their seat to me, I wouldn't be having to squeeze past them).

[CCCL]

I whole heartedly believe that allowing residents to put suit cases and push-chairs in the luggage compartment far out weighs the tiny expense of allowing a few people to slip through the net and travel for free on our bus.

What does one thing have to do with the other?

Having said all that, I have no problem getting on the bus with two push chairs and two small children in tow.  It's the residents that I accidentally hit with the push chairs and my bag that I feel sorry for (well, only a little bit sorry... if they offered their seat to me, I wouldn't be having to squeeze past them).

Or rather than assault your fellow residents or expect them to jump out their seats for you, you could, I don't know, use the push chairs for their intended purpose and push them to Citygate? Just a crazy thought 

[Oliver]

I whole heartedly believe that allowing residents to put suit cases and push-chairs in the luggage compartment far out weighs the tiny expense of allowing a few people to slip through the net and travel for free on our bus.

What does one thing have to do with the other?

Allowing the driver to open the luggage doors may allow some illegals to slip past the net.

Having said all that, I have no problem getting on the bus with two push chairs and two small children in tow.  It's the residents that I accidentally hit with the push chairs and my bag that I feel sorry for (well, only a little bit sorry... if they offered their seat to me, I wouldn't be having to squeeze past them).

Or rather than assault your fellow residents or expect them to jump out their seats for you, you could, I don't know, use the push chairs for their intended purpose and push them to Citygate? Just a crazy thought 

I try my hardest not to hit any body.  Some times, however, accidents happen.  As for expecting people to jump out of their seats for me, there are clearly marked signs indicating that this is the expected behaviour.  Walking to and from Citygate: I do that the vast majority of the time.  My arguments are for allowing us full use of the buses that we have already paid for, allowing people to stow a push chair under the bus would not inconvenience any body, would not cost any more money, would not result in masses of non-residents travelling on our bus hindering our own use and would allow the inconsiderate people who love to sit in the front seats more opportunity to do so guilt free.

[garyhk]

Way to go Oliver!!!!  Good for you... keep it up.

It astonishes me how so many young people abuse the front seat convenience; sadly the young today know little of etiquette and manners.  Some may think me old fashioned, but it all used to work rather nicely, not people having to struggle past perfectly able mostly young people / helpers who sit at the front.

Whilst writing it reminds me about some other things.  Why in the heat of the summer are the buses kept idling away from the bus queue, often times the driver isn't even on the bus enjoying the air-con; the same goes in the winter when people are standing out in the cold and the buses are idling somewhere else.

Why do CC bus drivers need so much break time?  Other bus drivers with massively more to do than what CC bus drivers have to do (CC drivers don't manage fares, they don't many interchanges, they don't manage enquiries about routes, they don't even help with prams and luggage - all they do is drive form one stop at CC to another stop at TC MTR), other bus drivers drive for miles and miles across Hong Kong without the need to drive off for a break after one simple little leg between CC and TC MTR.  It is waste upon waste upon waste of CC residents' money. 

I know I went off topic a bit, but I couldn't stop.

[giantsean]

Or rather than assault your fellow residents or expect them to jump out their seats for you, you could, I don't know, use the push chairs for their intended purpose and push them to Citygate? Just a crazy thought  

The same reason that perfectly mobile residents don't, I don't know, use their feet for their intended purpose and walk to Citygate... because they pay for the service and have the right to use it.

There have been multiples time where I would have liked to use the bus to bring back bulky items without walking them home or hunting down a taxi (which is hard to find these days).  But hey... as long as the estate can use the cargo area that we pay for to store/transport their stinky cleaning items, who am I to complain?

They also still don't deploy the ****ing step like they promised.  Just sayin'.

[giantsean]

Tonight around 10:45 I watched Bus A roll up and stop to let off passengers right in front of the MTR (around where the Internet hawkers stand).  I guess they might have been cleaning crew or guards or some other staff, and that's all well and good if the driver can get away with it.  They all work hard.  Still it, and the fact that these buses are used to store/transport materials for the estate, made me wonder whether the bus service which we fund each month with our management fees belongs to the MO or to the residents.

[charles]

allow phase 2,3,4,5 residents to take bus to the clubhouse, allow phase 1 residents to take bus home after they shop at the mall, etc. You are encouraged to let me know your thought. Thx.

ppl in tower 6 taking the bus to the clubhouse for the gym - now that would be spectacular! Even from PNR to phase I ... nah!