Under renewal terms for franchises beginning 2013, currently held by New World First Bus, Long Win Bus and Citybus on the airport and North Lantau network, passengers must be allowed to bring foldable bicycles on board.
(Reported in SCMP, 28 Feb 2012. But we are not sure where that news came from. Will post here when we find it.)
運輸署剛推出｢至fit安全駕駛大行動｣，並在其網頁貼出共12頁有關安全駕駛的漫畫，每頁帶出一個訊息，其中有3頁是有關在馬路上的單車，主要是提醒駕駛人士馬路上隨時有單車行駛、要保持距離及互相禮讓。相信這些針對駕駛人士的宣傳教育有助提升騎單車人士在路上的安全，並肯定了單車作為交通工具行駛在馬路上的事實。
單車汽車在路上，道路安全靠互諒 / Cars on the road with bicycles, road safety through mutual understanding
單車容易左右擺，保持距離就最佳 / Cyclists are easy to move around, keep a distance from them
單車隨時喺左近，望左望右至穩陣 / Cyclists at junctions. look left, look right to be cautious
Do you like the title of the post..?.. I’ve never heard the subject described that way before, but I think it’s a great way to summarize how cyclists feel about arrogant or aggressive drivers. The quote comes from the comment section of the ipayroadtax.com link below, so thanks go to Jack Thurston of The Bike Show podcast.
Don’t forget that here in Hong Kong all of the tax revenue is paid into one big amount, the same way as the UK, and it is then spent where the government decides, so there is no road tax here in Hong Kong also, there is only a vehicle registration and license, and don’t let drivers try to tell you otherwise.
There’s also a great post and discussion on the subject of licensing or registering bicycles at ipayroadtax.com. it’s a lot of words, but it’s worth reading.
London has been seen in the last few years as a progressive city for cyclists, including many new cycle lanes and superhighways, advance stop lines at junctions, a big bicycle share scheme and awareness campaigns for HGV drivers amongst many various ways that have encouraged cycling and increased safety on the roads. With the massive expansion of cycling in London has been a respective concern for a possible increase in cyclist injuries and fatalities, and yet only 12 cyclists were killed on London’s roads between August 2010 and July 2011.
If we were to compare numbers of cyclists on the road in Hong Kong and London, we could expect to see some proportionality between the numbers killed, and yet Hong Kong had 14 fatalities between January and September only, with far fewer cyclists on its roads…!
I think it’s time to challenge the Hong Kong Government Transport Department to address this by:
Hong Kong is known for its progressive stance on many issues, however I feel that cycling has been left behind compared to public opinion and also other cities around the world. These measures would be a big step forward, and could be the start of something great for the future of Hong Kong.
Nick Andrew
