Emergency transport scheme in the works

Wallis Wang

Authorities will discuss with transport sector leaders how to improve conditions for people when the weather is bad, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu says.

This came after more than 16,000 people were stranded at the airport, with thousands more stuck at MTR stations on Sunday night after the Hong Kong Observatory issued a No 9 typhoon signal on 15 minutes' notice.

Lee insisted observatory experts had done their best but current technology has limited ability to forecast and warn people well in advance.

Fact was that a change in the behavior of Typhoon Koinu "was rapid and sudden," he said yesterday.

"There were many uncertainties in Koinu's track," he added, "but we can always learn from the experience and improve."

People should also have a sense of "self-warning" as there had been an observatory alert on Sunday afternoon that it could issue a higher typhoon signal.

He said transport arrangements for typhoons were not ideal, and authorities including the Airport Authority and the MTR Corp should think of a better way of handling the issue.

"What I hope to achieve is a contingency plan that will deal with extreme situations involving the need for emergency transportation," Lee said. "I shall ask the Transport and Logistics Bureau to look at this very quickly."

But the taxi sector said only a limited number of cabs could be deployed during typhoons due to insurance factors.

Ng Kwan-sing, life president of the Taxi Dealers and Owners Association, said the Airport Authority contacted the group amid the No 9 signal on Sunday night, but most drivers were not working at that time, and those that were might not want to drive a long way to the airport.

Ng also said drivers may not be able to claim on insurance if there accidents in extreme weather. So they could face huge sums for damage and compensation for injuries.

"As long as insurance claim requirements are unclear the chance of taxi drivers providing services in typhoon weather will remain low," he said.

Ng said the taxi sector should not be blamed for long waiting times at the airport as the railway service was also suspended.

But cabbies should not overcharge passengers, Ng added, and they faced being prosecuted for charging sky-high fares.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, Chow Kwok-keung, said many taxi drivers had worked for a long time during the day on Sunday and were too tired to pick up travelers at the airport despite the Airport Authority's appeal.

Roundtable legislator Michael Tien Puk-sun noted the MTR decided to suspend all overground rail services after a tree collapse that damaged the electricity supply and paralyzed the East Rail Line in 2012 when typhoon Vicente hit Hong Kong.

Tien said all new MTR lines should be built underground, and authorities could consider building covers for existing railways to prevent trains from being blown over during wild weather conditions.

Legislator Edward Leung Hei of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the Airport Authority should have made a contingency plan well in advance.

Yet it called "bus and taxi sectors in a hurry, which showed they did not have a plan in advance," he said. "If they discussed details of arrangements with the sectors, including insurance and fares, drivers would be willing to help."

Leung Wing-mo, a former assistant director of the observatory, said earlier that restaurants and malls could suspend operations under the No 8 typhoon signal due to safety concerns.

But the president of the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, Yeung Wai-sing, said restaurants would suffer huge losses if they ceased operations whenever a typhoon hit.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com

Editorial: Page 6