PUBLIC BUS SERVICES REGULATIONS

PUBLIC BUS SERVICES REGULATIONS

PUBLIC BUS SERVICES REGULATIONS

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
Regulation Page
PART 1

PRELIMINARY

1. Citation .............................G3

2. Interpretation ....................................................
............................................ G3

PART 11
Bus STOPS
3. Setting aside of bus stops ...........G 4
PART 111
TICKETS AND FARES
4. Issue of tickets, etc . ..............G4
5. Fares ................................G5
PARTIV
GRANTEES, DRIVERS, CONDUCTORS, AUTHORIZED
PERSONS AND PASSENGERS
6. General duties of grantees ...........G5
7. Sign boards and notices on buses .....G 5
8. Uniform ..............................G 6
9. Conduct of driver ....................G 6
10. Conduct of conductor and of driver when no conductor is carried G 7
11. General conduct of driver and conductor G 8
1 1A. Consumption of alcohol ............G 8
12. General conduct of driver ...........G 8
13. Power to remove passengers etc . ....G 8
13A. General conduct of passengers and intending passengers G 9
13B. Compliance with directions .........G10

.........................PART V
.........................CARRIAGE OF GOODS AND LOST PROPERTY
14. Carriage of goods ..................................................................... G10
14A. Dangerous goods ..................G11

15. Property to be handed to conductor ..G11
16. Duty of conductor to search a bus ...G11
17. Record of property ..................G11





Regulation Page

is.......................................Safe keeping of property G 12
19.......................................Unclaimed property G 12
20.......................................Claimed property G 12
21.......................................Person entitled to award G 13
22.......................................Costs of packing and carriage G 13
23.......................................Liability of grantee, etc . G 13
24.......................................Examination of property G 13

PART VA
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE IN THE NORTH-WEST TRANSIT SERVICE AREA
24A.....................................Restrictions on putting down and taking up of passengers G 14
24B.....................................Bus stop G 14

PART VI

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

25.......................................Offences and penalties G 14





PUBLIC BUS SERVICES REGULATIONS
(Cap. 230, section 35)
[29 August 1984]

L.N. 313 of 1984 56 of 1986, R. Ed. 1986, L.N. 19 of
1989

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

1. Citation

These regulations may be cited as the Public Bus Services Regulations.

2. Interpretation

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires-

'authorized person' means any person employed by a grantee and authorized by it
for the purposes of these regulations;

'bus stop' means an area of road that has been designated as a bus stop under
regulation 3; (L.N. 19 of 1989)

'gangway', in relation to a bus, means the space provided for obtaining access from
any entrance to the passengers' seats or from any such seat to an exit, other
than an emergency exit, but does not include a staircase or any space in front of
a seat which is required only for the use of passengers occupying that scat or
that row of seats; (L.N. 19 of 1989)

'identity card' means an identity card issued under the Registration of Persons
Ordinance (Cap. 177); (L.N. 19 of 1989)

'pass' means a pass issued by a grantee or by some other person and accepted by
a grantee which, subject to these regulations and to any terms or conditions
approved by the Commissioner under these regulations, entitles a person to
travel (or the travel for a reduced fare) on a bus operated by the grantee under a
franchise; (L.N. 19 of 1989)

'ticket' means a single journey ticket, monthly ticket, student ticket or any other
document (other than a pass) issued by a grantee or by some other person and
accepted by a grantee which, subject to these regulations and to any terms or
conditions approved by the Commissioner under these regulations, entitles a
person to travel on a bus operated by the grantee under a franchise; (L.N. 19 of
1989)





'travel document' means a passport furnished with a photograph of the

holder, or some other document establishing to the satisfaction of an

employee of a grantee, the identity of the holder; (L.N. 19 of 1989)

'Vietnamese refugee card' means a card of identity issued by the Director, the

Deputy Director or any Assistant Director of Immigration to a Vietnamese

refugee. (L.N. 19 of 1989)

PART 11

Bus STOPS

3. Setting aside of bus stops

(1) The Commissioner may designate an area of road to be a bus stop.

(L.N. 19 of 1989)

(2) A bus stop may be restricted to

(a) a specified grantee; or

(b) a specified route.

(3) Subject to regulation 24A. a bus belonging to a specified grantee or on a
specified route- (56 of 1986 s. 23)

(a) may stop at a bus stop to pick up or set down passengers;

(b)shall stop at a bus stop to set down a passenger if requested to do so
and, if not at full capacity, to pick up an intending passenger when
signalled to do so.

(4) The Commissioner may require a grantee to erect and maintain a sign, of a
type approved by the Commissioner, at a bus stop, or to remove any sign.

(5) No person shall, without the permission of the Commissioner, erect or cause
to be erected any sign on or near any road in such a manner that such sign might
reasonably be believed to have been erected in accordance with subregulation (4).

(6) Every sign which, at the commencement of these regulations, has been
lawfully erected on or near a road by a grantee to indicate a bus stop shall be
deemed to have been erected in accordance with subregulation (4).

(7) (Repealed L.N. 19 of 1989)

PART 111

TICKETS AND FARES

4. Issue of tickets, etc.

(1) A grantee may issue tickets and passes, and accept tickets and passes
issued by any other person, upon such terms and conditions as may be approved
by the Commissioner.





(2) A grantee shall ensure that a copy, in English and Chinese characters, of the
conditions upon which any ticket or pass is issued, is prominently displayed at all
times at every fixed place where such ticket or pass is sold and that, on demand, any
person who buys such ticket or pass at any such fixed place may receive, without
charge, a copy of such conditions.

(3) Any person who, for the purposes of obtaining any ticket or pass issued
under subregulation (1) for himself or any other person, knowingly makes a false
statement commits an offence.

5. Fares

A grantee shall ensure that fares are collected

(a) against the issue of a ticket; or

(b) in such other manner as may be approved by the Commissioner.

(L.N. 19 of 1989)

PART IV

GRANTEES, DRIVERS, CONDUCTORS, AUTHORIZED PERSONS AND
PASSENGERS
(L.N. 19 of 1989)

6. General duties of grantees

Every grantee shall ensure that

(a)every bus used by it in connection with its franchise is, at all times
when the bus is so used, properly equipped to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner with such signs and destination indicators as are
referred to in regulation 7; and

(b)every driver, conductor and authorized person employed by it is
equipped with such uniform as is referred to in regulation 8.

7. Sign boards and notices on buses

(1) A driver and conductor of a bus when acting as such shall ensure that

(a)there is displayed on the front and rear of the bus signs, of a design
and construction approved by the Commissioner, showing the route
number;

(b)there is displayed on the front of the bus a destination indicator, of a
design and construction approved by the Commissioner, showing in
English and Chinese characters the destination of the bus;





(c)the signs and indicator required to be displayed under paragraphs (a)
and (b) are adequately illuminated at all times when, under the
provisions of any other enactment, the lights of the bus are required
to be illuminated;

(d) a sign board with the words 'BUS FULL' and the characters

W' displayed thereon, of a size and design approved by the
Commissioner, is exhibited on the bus in such manner as to be easily
visible by intending passengers, both by day and by night, whenever
the maximum number of passengers which the bus is permitted to
carry are travelling thereon, but on no other occasion and at no other
time;

(e)there is displayed on the bus, to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner,

(i) a statement, in English and Chinese characters, of the maximum
number of seated and standing passengers authorized to be
carried on the bus;

(ii) the authorized fare for passengers boarding on the section of the
route on which the bus is currently operating; and

there are available on the bus written details, in both English and
Chinese characters, of the fares and charges authorized to be taken
on that route, such details to be available for inspection by
passengers on reasonable request being made.

(2) The Commissioner may permit the use of a temporary sign under
subregulation (1)(a) and a temporary destination indicator under subregulation
(1)(b) for such period and subject to such conditions as he may determine.

8. Uniform

Every driver and conductor of a bus and every authorized person employed by
a grantee shall at all times when on duty wear such uniform and carry such badge as
shall be approved by the Commissioner.

9. Conduct of driver

A driver of a bus, when acting as such

(a)shall not cause the bus to remain stationary on a road longer than is
reasonably necessary to pick up or set down passengers except at a
stand or place where the bus is permitted to stop for a longer time
than is necessary for that purpose;

(b)shall duly drive the bus by the appointed route to the appointed
destination, except when prevented from doing so by accident or
other emergency or when ordered not to do so by an authorized
person or by a police officer;





(c)shall stop his bus at every bus stop which bears an indication that all
buses or all buses travelling the route on which his bus is travelling
should stop there;

(d)shall stop his bus, if signalled to do so, at every bus stop along the
route on which his bus is travelling to allow passengers or intending
passengers to alight from or to board his bus:

Provided that a driver shall be under no obligation to stop his bus in
accordance with paragraph (d) for the purpose of picking up passengers when his
bus is displaying the sign board specified in regulation 7(1)(d).

10. Conduct of conductor and of driver

when no conductor is carried

(1) A conductor of a bus when acting as such-

(a)shall, when a passenger in the bus gives adequate warning that he
wishes to alight at the next bus stop, give to the driver such signal as
will inform the driver that the bus should be stopped at such place;

(b)shall not, except for sufficient reason, by failing to signal the driver to
start, cause the bus to remain stationary on a road longer than is
reasonably necessary to pick up or set down passengers except at a
stand or place where the bus is permitted to stop for a longer time
than is necessary for that purpose.

(2) A conductor of a bus, when acting as such, and in the case of a bus in
which no conductor is carried, a driver

(a)shall not neglect or refuse to admit and to carry at the lawful fare any
passenger or intending passenger who can be accommodated
without exceeding the authorized capacity of the bus and to whose
admission no reasonable objection is made;

(b)shall permit any passenger to bring with him such goods as may
lawfully, safely and conveniently be carried on the bus;

(c)shall not permit any animal, other than a guide dog accompanying a
blind person, to be carried on the bus;

(d)may refuse to permit any person who is in a dirty condition to enter in
or travel in the bus;

(e)may refuse to permit any person, whom he has reasonable cause to
believe to be intoxicated, mentally unbalanced or suffering from an
infectious or contagious disease, to enter in or travel in the bus;

may refuse to permit any person, whom he has reasonable cause to
believe is carrying goods of a dangerous or offensive nature, to enter
in or travel in the bus.





11. General conduct of driver and conductor

ù driver and a conductor of a bus, when acting as such

(a) shall behave in a civil and orderly manner;

(b) shall be clean and tidy in his person;

(c)shall not smoke in or on the bus during a journey or when it has
passengers on board; (L.N. 19 of 1989)

(d)shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of
passengers in or on or entering or alighting from the bus;

(e)shall, if requested by any police officer in uniform or any person
authorized by the Commissioner, give particulars of his licence, if any,
his name and the name and address of the grantee by whom he is
employed;

(f)shall not, at any reasonable time, obstruct, or neglect to give all
reasonable information and assistance to, any police officer in uniform,
or any person authorized by the Commissioner who produces such
authority, to examine the bus.

11A. Consumption of alcohol

ù driver or conductor of a bus shall not while on duty as such consume any
alcoholic drink.

(L.N. 19 of 1989)

12. General conduct of driver

A driver of a bus when acting as such

(a)shall, when picking up or setting down passengers, stop the bus as
close to the left or near side of the road as is safe and practicable so to
do;

(b)shall not, when the bus is in motion, speak to any person unless it is
necessary to do so on grounds of safety;

(c) shall not unreasonably delay the bus on any journey;

(d)shall shut off the engine and ensure that all the passengers are
removed from the bus before filling the petrol or oil tank and keep
such engine shut off and ensure that all passengers remain out of the
bus until such filling is completed;

(e)shall shut off the engine if, for any reason, he leaves the bus
unattended.

13. Power to remove passengers etc.

(1) Any person who is an employee of a grantee and who is in uniform and on
duty may remove from a bus any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe
has contravened these regulations.





(2) Any person who is an employee of a grantee and who is in uniform
and on duty may require any passenger whom he has reasonable cause to
believe has contravened these regulations to give his name and address and
produce proof of identity. (L.N. 19 of 1989)
(3) Any person who is an employee of a grantee and who is in uniform
and on duty may arrest without a warrant any person whom he has reasonable
cause to believe has contravened these regulations and may detain such person
until he can be handed over to a police officer.
(4) A police officer, to whom a person is handed over under subregula-
tion (3), shall take such person into custody without a warrant and there-
after sections 51 and 52 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) shall apply.
(L.N. 19 of 1989)
(5) In this regulation 'proof of identity' in relation to any passenger
means-
(a) his valid identity card;
(b)a document issued by the Commissioner of Registration
acknowledging that that person has applied-
(i)to be registered under the Registration of Persons Ordinance
(Cap. 177); or
(ii) for a new identity card under regulation 13 or 14 of the
Registration of Persons Regulations (Cap. 177 sub. leg.);
(c) a valid travel document held by him;
(d)documentary proof of identity officially issued to him for the
purpose of his service in Her Majesty's regular naval, military or
air forces; or
(e) a Vietnamese refugee card issued to him. (L.N. 19 of 1989)

13A. General conduct of passengers
and intending passengers

(1) No passenger or intending passenger shall-
(a)wilfully obstruct, impede or distract the driver of the bus or any
authorized person;
(b) wilfully obstruct the driver's view of the road or of any traffic;
(c)wilfully do or cause to be done with respect to any part of the bus
or its equipment, anything which-
(i) obstructs or interferes with the workings of the bus or causes
damage; or
(ii) causes injury, discomfort, annoyance or inconvenience to
any other person;
(d)improperly interfere with the doors or any other mechanism,
device or control which forms part of the bus or which is
connected to the bus; or





(e) throw or wilfully drop anything from a bus.
(2) No passenger shall stand-
(a) on any part of a bus other than the gangway;
(b) on the upper deck of a bus; or
(c)on a single-decked bus or on the lower deck of a double-decked
bus, forward of the rearmost part of the driver's seat,
while the bus is moving.
(3) A line may be marked transversely on the gangway to indicate the
area in which passengers may not stand while the bus is moving.
(L.N. 19 of 1989)

13B. Compliance with directions

(1) A driver or conductor of a bus when acting as such may give such
directions as he considers necessary in the interests of public safety to any
passenger or intending passenger.
(2) No passenger or intending passenger shall fail to comply with any
direction given under subregulation (1).
(L.N. 19 of 1989)

PART V

CARRIAGE OF GOODS AND LOST PROPERTY

14. Carriage of goods

(1) A passenger on a bus may carry, without further charge, a package or
packages of a total weight not exceeding 5 kg and a total volume not exceeding
0.1 m' so long as such package or packages may be safely or conveniently
carried.
(2) A passenger on a bus which the Commissioner has authorized for the
carriage of additional goods may carry, in addition to any goods carried under
subregulation (1), such other goods as the Commissioner may permit on
payment of the appropriate charge specified in the scale of fares determined
under section 13(1) of the Ordinance.
(3) The carriage of goods under subregulations (1) and (2) is subject to
the condition that-
(a)the goods shall not occupy any scat and are not placed in the
gangway or stairway of the bus; and
(b)no goods of an offensive nature shall be carried. (L.N. 19 of
1989)





14A. Dangerous goods
No person shall bring onto any bus any substance or article to which the
Dangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap. 295) applies.
(L.N. 19 of 1989)

15. Property to be handed to conductor

Any person who finds any property accidentally left in a bus shall
immediately hand it in the state in which he finds it to the conductor, or, if no
conductor is carried on the bus, to the driver, who shall deal with it in
accordance with these regulations.

16. Duty of conductor to search a bus
Immediately on the termination of any journey by a bus the conductor, or,
if no conductor is carried, the driver, shall search the bus so far as is practicable
for any property that has been accidentally left therein, and as soon as may be
and in any case within 12 hours, shall hand any such property together with any
property handed to him in accordance with regulation 15 in the state in which it
came into his possession, to the grantee or such employee of the grantee as shall
be authorized by the grantee to receive any such property, and such employee
shall give the conductor or driver, as the case may be, a receipt for the property:
Provided that-
(a)any property found by or handed to a conductor or driver may, if
he goes off duty before the completion of the journey, either be
dealt with by him in accordance with this regulation or handed
by him, in the state in which it came into his possession, to the
conductor or driver who goes on duty in his place who shall give
him a receipt therefor and deal with it in accordance with this
regulation; and
(b)if, before the property has been handed to the grantee or to his
duly authorized employee, it is claimed by a person who satisfies
the conductor or the driver that he is the owner thereof, it shall
be returned to that person forthwith, without fee or reward, on
such person giving a receipt therefor containing his name and
address to the conductor or the driver who shall, as soon as may
be, report the facts and give the claimant's receipt and a
description of the property to the grantee or to its duly
authorized employee.

17. Record of property
A grantee shall keep a record of the particulars of any property handed in
by a conductor or driver in accordance with regulation 16, the circumstances in
which it was found and the name of the conductor or driver into whose





possession it first came and the ultimate disposal of the property under these
regulations and such record shall, at all reasonable times, be available for
inspection by any police officer.

18. Safe keeping of property
(1) A grantee shall retain in safe keeping any property which comes into
its possession in accordance with regulation 16 until claimed by the owner
thereof or disposed of in accordance with these regulations.
(2) A grantee shall return forthwith all official documents, including
licences, passports and identity cards, to the appropriate Government
Department or other body or person by whom they were issued.
(3) Where the name and address of the owner of any property, other than
a document referred to in subregulation (2) are readily ascertainable, the
grantee shall forthwith notify him that the property is in its possession and may
be claimed in accordance with these regulations.
(4) If any property appears to the grantee to be of a perishable or
offensive nature and is not claimed and proved to its satisfaction to belong to a
claimant within 8 hours of the time of finding or if it becomes objectionable, the
grantee may thereupon destroy or otherwise dispose of the property as it thinks
fit and, if the property is sold, the grantee shall reward the conductor or driver
in the manner provided in regulation 19.

19. Unclaimed property
If any property retained by a grantee is not proved to its satisfaction to
belong to a claimant within 3 months of the date when the property was handed
over to it by a conductor or driver, the property shall thereupon vest in the
grantee and the grantee may either deliver the property to the conductor or
driver or without delay sell the property and in respect of any article which
realizes a sum in excess of $2 shall award to the conductor or driver one-fifth,
up to an amount not exceeding $25, of the proceeds of such sale, and in
computing the amount due to the conductor or driver any part of 10 cents shall
be reckoned as 10 cents:
Provided that any document not returned to the owner or other
appropriate person under regulation 18(3) and which has not been claimed by
the person entitled to its return before the expiration of such period of 3 months
shall not be delivered to the conductor or driver or sold but shall be dealt with
in such manner as the grantee may deem appropriate.

20. Claimed property
(1) If any property retained by a grantee under regulation 18 is claimed
within 3 months of the date on which it was handed over to the grantee by the





conductor or driver and the claimant proves to the satisfaction of the grantee that it
belongs to him, it shall thereupon be delivered to the claimant upon his signing a
receipt therefor and upon payment by him to the grantee of a sum not exceeding 50
cents and, in the case of property of a value exceeding 52, an additional sum, not
exceeding $25, of one-fifth of the value of the property, which additional sum shall
be awarded by the grantee to the conductor or driver, and in computing the amount
due to the conductor or driver any proportion of 10 cents shall be reckoned as 10
cents.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation, the value of any property shall be
deemed to be such sum as may be agreed between the claimant and the grantee or,
failing agreement, such sum as may be fixed by an auctioneer licensed under the
Miscellaneous Licences Ordinance (Cap. 114), any fee payable to such auctioneer
being paid by the claimant.

21. Person entitled to award

The conductor or driver or other person into whose possession any property
first came shall alone be entitled to an award under regulations 18, 19 and 20.

22. Costs of packing and carriage

Where any property is forwarded to a claimant, all costs of packing and
carriage reasonably incurred shall be paid to the grantee by the claimant.

23. Liability of grantee, etc.

(1) A grantee shall not be liable for any loss, damage or injury to lost property if
all due diligence and care has been exercised by the grantee and by its employees in
respect thereof.

(2) Where lost property is returned by a conductor or driver in accordance with
regulation 16(b) or is returned by a grantee in accordance with regulation 20(1), in
good faith to a claimant, the conductor, driver or grantee shall not be liable to any
further claim in respect of such property.

24. Examination of property

(1) Where any property is contained in a package, bag or other receptacle, the
grantee may cause such package, bag or receptacle to be opened and the contents
examined if the grantee considers it necessary for the purposes of identifying and
tracing the owner thereof or of ascertaining the nature of its contents.





(2) Where any property is claimed by any person, the grantee may require the
claimant to open any receptacle in which it may be contained and to submit the
contents to examination for the purpose of establishing his claim to ownership or of
ascertaining the value of the property.

PART VA

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE IN THE NORTH-WEST
TRANSIT SERVICE AREA

24A. Restrictions on putting down and
taking up of passengers

During the period referred to in section 5(9) of the Ordinance every grantee
shall within the North-west Transit Service Area ensure that no bus used by it in
connection with its franchise, otherwise than as may be permitted by its franchise, or
as may be permitted by the Commissioner with the consent of the Kowloon-Canton
Railway Corporation, or in an emergency

(a)puts down any passenger who has boarded the bus within the North-
west Transit Service Area; or

(b)takes up any passenger whose journey is to terminate within the
North-west Transit Service Area.

(56 of 1986 s. 23)

24B. Bus stop

In addition to any powers which the Commissioner may exercise under
regulation 3 he may, during the period referred to in section 5(9) of the Ordinance,
within the North-west Transit Service Area restrict a bus stop under that regulation
so that it may only be used, or may not be used, by passengers who are travelling
to, or arriving from, a point outside the North-west Transit Service Area.

(56 of 1986 s. 23)

PART VI

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

25. Offences and penalties

(1) Any person who without reasonable excuse contravenes any requirement
made under regulation 3(4) or any of the provisions of regulation 3(3)(b), 3(5),
4(2), 5, 6, 7(1), 8, 9, 10(1), 10(2)(a), (b) or (c), 1 1(a), (b), (c), (e) or (f), 12(a), (b) or
(c), 13A(2), 13B 15, 16, 17 or 18 commits an offence.





(2) Any person who commits an offence under regulation 4(3) or subregulation
(1) is liable to a fine of $2,000.

(3) Any person who without reasonable excuse contravenes any of the
provisions of regulation 11 (d), 11 A, 12(d) or (e), 13A(1) or 14A commits an offence
and is liable to a fine of $3,000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.

(4) Any grantee who fails to ensure compliance with regulation 24A commits an
offence and is liable to a fine of $2,000.

(L.N. 19 of 1989)

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