Press Release Hongkong Tramways Pledges Continuous Service Upgrade at Centenary Celebration at Times Square Hong Kong, July 31, 2004 Serving Hong Kong since July 30, 1904, Hongkong Tramways marches into its 101st year of service today (July 31) with a Centenary Party cum Awards Presentation at Times Square, Causeway Bay. Officiated at the celebration party were Mr Robert Footman, Commissioner for Transport, Ms Miriam Lau Kin-Yee, GBS, JP, and Mr Frankie Yick, Hongkong Tramways' Director and General Manager. Speaking at the Centenary party, Mr Yick said that going forward, Hongkong Tramways will continue to upgrade its service standards, to strengthen its training for front-line employees and to enhance its position as a reliable and safe transport operator. He announced that several enhancement programmes will be kicked off soon, including the installation of route maps at all tram stops to better serve passengers, especially visiting tourists. This is expected to be completed within the year. In addition, Mr Yick said having taken into account passengers' feedback, Hongkong Tramways has decided to replace the rotating turnstiles at the rear entrance of the entire tram fleet with new flap gates for greater passenger comfort and safety. This improvement programme is targeted for completion in mid-2005. Another plan in store for the Company includes the adoption of a real-time centralised fleet management system with application software to be developed by internal resources. With this new system, management can monitor and regulate tram operations with improved efficiency and flexibility. Furthermore, it will take advantage of the image of trams as a traditional icon to help promote Hong Kong to overseas visitors. "While Hongkong Tramways ushers into its 101st year of operation today, we sincerely hoped that with the continuous support of Hong Kong people, we will sail into our next century of operation with full confidence," Mr Yick added.
At today's Centenary Party cum Awards Presentation, renowned local artist Ah Chung (Mr Yim Yee King) and Mr Raman Hui, supervising animator of the movie Shrek, appeared as special guests as the designers of Tramways' limited edition souvenirs items Centenary Souvenir Ticket Set and Centenary plush tram key chain. Representatives of Fu Hong Society and Children's Cancer Foundation, the charitable beneficiaries of the above souvenirs items, presented souvenirs to the two designers and Hongkong Tramways as a token of their support and contribution. In addition, winners of Tramways' "A Hundred Years of Tram Service" Drawing and Photo-taking Competitions held earlier were presented with their awards at the party. Both competitions were extremely well-received, with nearly 1,000 entries for the Drawing Competition and over 400 entries for the Photo-taking Competition. Winning drawings and photos of the two competitions will be on display at the "Celebrating 100 Years of Tram Service" Exhibition to be held at Times Square in Causeway Bay and Star Ferry's Tsimshatsui and Central Piers. The Centenary ceremony and presentation of awards were followed by performances by Ms Yumiko Cheng (¾G§Æ©É), Mr Joe Junior, the band Blue Jeans, Ms Jolie Chan (³¯b²N), Mr Pong Nan (ÂÅ«³¨¹) and Mr Peco Chui (®}°¶½å).
|
