Reckless Mini Bus Driver--How To Report?

thanka2

Registered User
We live in a pretty rural village out in the New Territories (west). There is one mini bus that runs from our village to the MTR station and to Yuen Long. This really is the only way in and out of our village. We can walk to the MTR station but it takes about 20+ minutes on a good day.

The problem is that some of the mini bus drivers are really reckless. Tonight not only did the mini bus almost run us over as we were walking on the sidewalk but when we got on (with our 4-week-old daughter in our arms) the driver still drove like a maniac. It's an older bus so there are no seatbelts. It was dark so we couldn't see who was driving until we got on. If we could have we might not have taken that bus as this driver is known for his reckless driving. He was speeding the entire way to Yuen Long (what's the rush?!)--the speedometer hit like 87 kilometers/hour but he has disabled the alarm that goes off so it didn't beep. This guy is awful! It's not the first time he's nearly killed everyone on the bus.

My question is--how do I report this guy and to whom? I am truly afraid that another awful minibus tragedy will occur if this guy continues behind the wheel. I will never ride on a bus he's driving again in the future but to protect others (and the ones walking on the sidewalk!) I feel I have to say something. My husband suggested bringing a camera on the bus to record his antics but that means I'd have to put my life in jeopardy again and I'm not up for that.

Does anyone know how to go about dealing with this situation? If I file a police report it probably won't do any good as they need some sort of evidence to investigate. I have no idea who the bus company is or how to contact them. The bus route is the 601 green minibus.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
they dont care whether we have babies on board because they have to rush to get passengers to and fro the minibus route. more passengers they pick up in one day, more they get paid so unfortunately, we can't do much but hold onto our dear lives and hope that no one gets hurt!

the bus company/owner wont do anything if you complain because they get their share of the fares by the amount of passengers he takes on one day. also cops wont do much unless he has actually caused harm to someone. even if there is evidence, he will get a warning and nothing more.

maybe you can take down his minibus license plate and tell the cops that it doesn't have seat-belts and i'm pretty sure that's illegal.

good luck and try not to get on his minibus...for now!
 
That's really too bad. Guess we're all walking from now on. I wanna punch that guy in the face. Honestly.
 
I know how you feel, I have had similar experiences but with taxi drivers. One in particular where the taxi driver got pissed off at me suggesting him an alternate route and afterwards was purposely speeding and then breaking suddenly. My son was few months old at the time and I had my then 2 year old daughter with me too. And just last month when I was taking my daughter's birthday treat to school, I told the driver to slow down as I had big trays in my hands. He said "I cannot slow down" I said why not, its unsafe to be speeding anyways and then he muttered something in chinese. So inconsiderate.
You can call the transport department complaint unit: 28899999 be sure to note down the name, license number of the driver or drivers and the bus number. There is always a certificate displayed on the minibus about the operator, try finding the name of the operator and the address/ number. Call them too.
The transport unit in HK is very very strict about these matters. At least when it comes to reckless taxi drivers. I have complained on a few occasions and they definitely take action. They called me to ask details and what kind of action I wanted them to take- Given warning or register a case. Even after they spoke to the driven they called me to inform about it and if I wanted them to take further action. I was impressed, but be sure to take down taxi plate number and driver's name/ license number.
Good luck!!!
 
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Thanka2, that's horrible. Unfortunately I wouldn't know what to do either. I'd be tempted to buy a car in order to avoid having to take the minibus.

I've hardly taken minibuses at all in my time in HK because there is usually an alternative for me. I have probably been on maybe a dozen minibus rides, and of those I have been in one minibus accident (driver's fault, unsurprisingly), and I had my 3 year old with me. There were seatbelts and we were the only ones wearing them! Not very good odds though. I'm reluctant to get in another minibus now, especially after seeing their outrageous accident statistics in the newspaper. It's helpful to know about reporting taxi drivers though - I sometimes need to get a little more assertive and let them know they need to slow down when they speed.
 
Thank you for that number geomum. I'm going to write it down and put it in my wallet.

Yeah, I know, ozmerc--wish that having a car was financially a viable option for us--especially with two children. But, how it is is that if you can afford to take a taxi wherever you go then you can afford to own a car (buying the car, licensing, registration, upkeep, parking, fuel etc.) and we simply can't afford a taxi to go very many places--this is why we walk and take public transport. I think that common safety should be a basic right.
 
Is it a green or red minibus? I think the green ones are better regulated and there should be a number in the bus to report bad driving or speeding.
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thanka, i know that money is an issue, but you really should consider getting a cheap car. we paid only $9800 for our old toyota corolla. to licence/register for a year is about $3000 (if memory serves), the MOT (once per year) depends on what's wrong with the car, the petrol costs me about $600/week (but as you know, i drive A LOT!) if you are only using it once in a while, you could probably spread that full tank of gas out to an entire month.

the registration fee can be paid quarterly if you so choose (a little more expensive over the year, but means you don't need a large one-off payment). the insurance, because i have a no claim bonus is only about $2k/year.

i lived here for 12 years before i got a car. i must admit, it's not nearly as expensive as i thought it was going to be. (of course, i would love to have a better/nicer car, but so long as it gets me from point A to point B, i'm happy).
 
and yes, ONLY red minibuses are paid according to how many passengers they can carry. green minibuses are paid a daily rate. my father-in-law used to drive a green minibus, so he's told me how it works. (just in case you were wondering, the green minibus drivers earn about $300/day for an 8 hour shift, at least that was what he got a few years ago.)
 
Hmmmm....well, the bus we were on was a green top--no wonder why the guy was so pissed off--he's earning only $300/day. However, it's not excuse to endanger peoples' lives!
 
definitely report him... next time, call the police when you are in the bus...tell them the licence number of the reckless driver, those little placards also have the licence plate number of the vehicle.

good luck! i'm so glad i have a car now, especially with kids.
 
most of the chinese are not aware of the importance of the safety.
I have just made a topic at facebook to remind my friends not do take taxi with infant, after reading this thread
http://www.geobaby.com/forum/thread144531.html
and most of them are disagreed with my point.

I personally rarely take taxi espeically with kids, so does mini van but i can tell you that lots of the hk ppl really do care about those driver's driving attitude. So in you case, i dont think passenger on board would make a complaint.
 
If you have a video camera on your phone, you could try taking a movie clip as evidence. Although that probably isn't realistic given that you'd be hanging on for dear life!

One of the minibus drivers on my regular route actually fell asleep at the wheel, veered off the road and mounted the pedestrian pavement! Luckily, we were out in the suburbs where there were no pedestrians and very little traffic.
 
i remember about 15 years ago being on a minibus in clearwater bay. they were working on the road and had traffic lights set up every 500m or so.... at EVERY light, the driver would nod off.... i actually yelled at him to wake him up at one point. then i got off at the next traffic light and took a taxi to work. seemed a little less dangerous...
 
I'm curious, If you don't take taxi's or Minibuses how do you get around?

We will be moving to HK in July with two little girls and I am VERY concerned for their safety when traveling in vehicles. We don't have immediate plans to get a car and would rely mainly on the MTR, buses and taxies to get around. I am a staunch advocate for carseat use in cars of course, but also for air travel... I have never really had to deal with public transportation and am wondering how we're going to tackle this safely with a 5 month old and a 3 year old?! Do you use your car seat in taxis? How do you avoid mini buses? How do you travel safely on the MTR with little ones? What about buses? Thanks.
 
mtr? you get a seat and hold your child on your lap.

bus? not much you can do except hold your child on your lap.

taxi? there is a type of carseat called a "sit'n'stroll" and it is easy to belt into a car/taxi. then it turns into a pram/stroller. they are bulky, though and once your baby reaches a certain age, just not practical.

minibus? i only take my kids on the minibus if there are no other options.
 
Among the different kinds of public transport in HK, I wouldn't worry much about the MTR or buses. All the buses I've taken in HK are driven really conservatively.

Trams are pretty safe too. But they're probably not suitable for infants since they're often crowded.

Light rails are ok too. But I find the inertial forces of the car are quite strong. So I would be cautious.

Minibuses are definitely a bad idea if you are carrying an infant. They tend to hard brake and hard accelerate. And they don't brake enough when making turns. You'll have a hard time just staying in your seat.

Taxis are mostly ok. But pick and choose your drivers.
-Avoid really old drivers. Not trying to discriminate against the elderly but some of these guys are just way too old to be driving.
-If you see reading glasses on the dashboard, get out. One time, I printed out the address of where I wanted to go to show to the driver. The text wasn't particularly small, but he had to put on his reading glasses and squint before barely being able to read it. Driving requires vision, both near and far.
- If you see more than 1 mobile phone on the dashboard, get out. The worse I've seen is 3 phones on the dashboard. And then 2 more phones attached to the face of the steering wheel via velcro.
 
i had a taxi driver once with 7 phones. they are not necessarily bad drivers, they just work for many companies in order to maximise their profits.

the rest of what you wrote, i agree with.
 
I'm curious, If you don't take taxi's or Minibuses how do you get around?

We will be moving to HK in July with two little girls and I am VERY concerned for their safety when traveling in vehicles. We don't have immediate plans to get a car and would rely mainly on the MTR, buses and taxies to get around. I am a staunch advocate for carseat use in cars of course, but also for air travel... I have never really had to deal with public transportation and am wondering how we're going to tackle this safely with a 5 month old and a 3 year old?! Do you use your car seat in taxis? How do you avoid mini buses? How do you travel safely on the MTR with little ones? What about buses? Thanks.

Buy a car for heavens sake.
 
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