Learning Points from Marine Parade Cluster WeCare Shuttle Bus Service

*818. Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what are the learning points from the discontinued free Marine Parade shuttle bus trial that will be applied to future assessments of Community Development Council funds disbursements for free or discounted transport offerings.

Response:

1. Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: Mr Speaker, I am answering in my capacity as the Minister charged with the responsibility for the People’s Association.

2. Community Development Council (CDC) funds support community programmes that help and benefit the community, strengthen the social glue, build a more compassionate society and foster community bonding.

3. In response to feedback from residents for last mile connectivity, the Marine Parade shuttle bus service was launched as a pilot by the Grassroots Organisations (GROs) of the Marine Parade Town Cluster to address the needs.

4. The majority of the funding for the shuttle bus pilot came from donations raised by the GROs, supplemented by a $200,000 seed grant provided by the South East CDC.

5. Learning points from the pilot include the fact that some routes experienced higher usage than others across different time periods due to varying needs of residents in different locations. The data collected from the usage patterns were useful. Adjustments were made, taking the usage data and feedback into consideration; bus frequencies were adjusted and one of the routes was discontinued earlier this year. The GROs will continue to adopt this approach of piloting, adapting and reviewing how to deploy resources to best serve resident needs.

6. Marine Parade GRC Grassroots Advisers have studied the detailed findings from the operations, and have decided to terminate the shuttle bus and to deploy resources in a more targeted manner to meet the connectivity needs of residents across Marine Parade. More details will be announced soon.