Audit Commission finds Rehabus services utilized ineffectively

The Audit Commission said authorities should step up the supervision of the city’s Rehabus services, after finding such services being utilized ineffectively.

Two operators have been running the Rehabus service in the city, one responsible for providing a scheduled route service and dial-a-ride service, while the other for the feeder service.

The Commission’s audit report released on Wednesday found that there has been a decrease in the number of scheduled route service users and passenger trips, yet the number of scheduled routes has increased.

It noted that the average monthly number of scheduled routes increased from 106 in 2019 to 121 in 2023, while the average monthly number of enlisted users decreased by 9 percent during the same period.

Audit analysis also revealed that of the 121 routes as of September 2023, 22 had a monthly average of six or fewer enlisted passengers. And at the same time, 98 applicants were on the scheduled route service waiting list, including 8 applicants having been on the waiting list for more than a year, whereas the longest waiting time was 22.7 months.

As for the dial-a-ride service, the Commission’s report found that the number of total orders received increased by 28 percent from 2019 to 2023, while the number of rejected orders increased by 102 percent.

Notwithstanding the increase in the number of rejected orders, the watchdog noted that the
average number of spare vehicles on weekdays ranged from 9 to 42 during the same period.

Meanwhile, the watchdog said there is a need to expedite feeder service performance reviews on hospital routes with low patronage.

It analyzed the number of vehicle trips and passenger trips served by hospital routes and
found that in 2023, the average passenger trip per vehicle trip for three of the 12 routes
was less than one. In particular, 80 percent or more of the vehicle trips of these three routes
were without passengers.

The Commission urged the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Transport Department to step up supervision of Rehabus services, including conducting a review of the routing of existing Rehabus service routes.

In 2022-23, the amount of subvention provided to the two Rehabus service operators were HK$112 million and HK$13 million respectively, the report read.