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Originally Posted by redwriter  It was the hire cars that will be stopped. This is very bad for many people who depend on them. Bus service is not always reliable. For emergency, only way is hire cars. Now, if this service is stopped, the future of DB is questionable as a community. People living here will have no way to carry heavy items, get some where fast, and be able to connect with the outside world fast and safely. I am considering moving out of DB because I need reliable transportation. If you feel the same, share your comments with me. |
I disagree that the future of DB depends on the hire car service. The open letter by the Hong Kong Commissioner for Transport to DB residents dated June 29, 2007 explains that Discovery Bay Transit Services Limited (DBTSL) violated its license for the hire car service because it ran it like a bus service. The Commissioner suggested to DBTSL that they "
explore other alternatives to meet the residents' needs, including applying for more hire car permits, strengthening the existing Residents Bus Service (for instance, by increasing the frequency and amending the routes), operating shuttle services, etc." The Commissioner promised to give
"due priority to these applications once received".
Assuming DBTSL takes up one or more of these options instead of deciding to cancel the hire car service, I see very little impact on DB residents. I have used the hire car service to move goods and previously called them to arrange pick-up time and location, which appears to be the way the service was designed.
While I do not support cancellation of the hire car service, I don't think DBTSL has been honest to DB residents in its communications; there is a tendency to blame others for the current mess they're in instead of accepting responsibility for their own mistakes / non-compliance. Similar rhetoric was used last year in regards to bus licenses to Sunny Bay and I'm getting a bit tired of their whining.
