The shortfall of public seating is obvious at bus stops where people place their own plastic chairs. People having their meal while sitting on the ground during the Covid-19 dining-in ban was another stark reminder. More public seats will make our city friendlier, more sustainable and healthier. Especially elderly will be able to walk further and forego a vehicular trip if they know there is a place to rest.
In 2015, Designing Hong Kong (DHK) campaigned for more seating . Of the 3,000 covered bus stops only 200 had seats. Most of the uncovered bus and minibus stops have no seats at all. In response, Government earmarked $88.27 million in the 2016 Policy Address for bus companies to install seats at about 2,600 covered bus stops and real-time bus arrival information display panels at about 1,300 bus stops.
However, the progress is slow. You will notice the orange seats only at a few bus stops. The program should have been completed by 2019 . The amount disbursed so far to bus companies is about $10.4 million. Currently, seats have been installed only at 1,670 covered stops and display panels at 430 due to site, geographical and electricity supply constraints. Location details can be found here (Scroll to 2017).
It is time to review the subsidy scheme: How do we get more seats? Should we relax the requirements? Should we rethink the designs? We propose that District Councils urge Government to enhance, expand and speed up the program for the installation of seats.
Where do you want / need more seats?
Where do you want / need seats to be added in your constituency? Which bus stops and transport interchanges? Which harbourfronts? Which streets? Which public venues?
Let us know: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V6BC9LX or email us at [email protected]. We will create a “Missing Seats Report” and push government for funding more public seats.
Southern District Uses District Minor Works for more seats
In the Southern District, we are now pursuing the installation of moveable benches. Seats with a cover require an underground foundation. Moving underground utilities can cause long delays.
For further input and ideas, please contact us at [email protected]
Let’s collaborate for more public seats!
每當你看到巴士站有自備膠凳，這正表示是公共座椅不足的問題。就像在新冠肺炎禁止堂食期間，用餐的人席地而坐，再次提醒我們這個既嚴酷又不人道的問題。公共座椅會使我們的城市更友善、更宜居、更可持續地發展。尤其是對長者而言，當他們知道有可休憩的設施，就寧願多步行，減少依賴車輛。
2015年，創建香港倡議增設公共座椅。全港有8,000多個巴士站，有蓋巴士站佔有3,000 個， 當中僅200個有座椅。大部份露天巴士站和小巴站均沒有座椅。為此，政府在2016年《施政报告》中預留了8,827萬港元，讓巴士公司在約2,600個有蓋巴士站安裝座椅，並在約1,300個巴士站安裝實時到站資訊顯示屏。
然而，計劃進展緩慢，該計劃本應在2019年完成。然而，到目前為止，巴士公司只收取約1,040萬元的資助。由於地理環境和電力供應的限制，政府只在1,670個有蓋巴士站完成加裝橙色座椅，並只能安裝430個顯示屏。各區巴士站座椅的分佈，可參閱運輸署網頁 (2017年)。
是時候檢視這個資助計劃：我們如何提供更多公共座椅？我們是否需要放寬安裝座椅的要求？是否需要更多嶄新的設計？我們建議區議會敦促政府加強，擴展安裝座椅計劃。
你的選區需要更多座椅嗎？
除了巴士站和交通交匯處外，海濱？街道？還是其他公共地方？
請通知我們：[email protected]
我們將會製作一份「邊度冇凳坐？報告」，推動政府關注公共地方座椅不足的情況。
南區區議會申請地區小型工程安裝座椅
有蓋的車站通常需要有地基支撐座椅，故申請及製作需時，可以考慮仿效南區區議會，他們正在申請可移動的長凳。
其他的意見和建議，請聯絡 [email protected]
讓我們共同努力創建宜居城市!
