DSAT satisfied with first school day traffic

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) director Wong Wan claimed that the local bus operators dispatched extra buses to handle the extra traffic for the first school day yesterday. He said that the overall situation is sufficient, but warned that conditions during peak hours remain volatile.
Wong Wan told the media yesterday at the Praca de Ferreira do Amaral interchange that he had inspected the Border Gate terminal and several interchanges, and found that operations were running smoothly.
“All the bus operators have increased their bus frequencies by around 20 percent for the peak hour in order to channel [the passengers]. As far as we can see, the condition today (yesterday) is mainly satisfying,” Mr Wong said.
Nevertheless, he has called on parents and students to be mindful today because all schools will start at the regular hour.
The director also reiterated that the increase in frequency of some particular bus routes would not mean reduction of services in other routes.
Moreover, Wong Wan also commented on the performance of New Era on the first school day. The company was established in June to take over the bankrupted bus operator Reolian.
Wong Wan said that New Era worked very hard on the day, which he likened to an “exam” for the operator.
The director stated that he saw New Era staff at many stops to help with channeling passengers. New Era also rearranged the drivers’ weekly day-off in order to boost its bus frequency.
“At this stage, we think that [the performance] is acceptable for a company that recently took over [the bus operation business] (…) I think, judging by today, [New Era’s performance] has passed”, he said.
Furthermore, the director has mentioned the commuting condition of the University of Macau (UM) students, who have to travel to the new Hengqin campus.
The director said that his bureau has been communicating with UM since last Thursday.
“Every [school] day at 10 a.m., there are more than 1,000 students who have to travel to UM at the same time. Therefore, we are going to increase the bus frequency at the Praca de Ferreira do Amaral interchange and the Edificio do Lago interchange to channel this larger group,” he said.
“We think that there needs to be more reinforcements to the routes that travel between Taipa and UM. However, the bus services have fulfilled the requirement (…) on the Macau side.”
The director said his bureau has to take another two weeks for the traffic to reach a more stable condition so that it can adjust the routes to meet the demand of commuting to UM from Taipa.
However, he ruled out adding extra routes to UM Hengqin, claiming that demand does not reach the level that requires an additional route.
Daniel Fang Li Qun, managing director of New Era, said that although there were more passengers yesterday, the increase in bus frequency has reduced the waiting time to normal levels.
He also took the chance to call on local corporate entities to adopt more flexible working hours to reduce the pressure on buses during peak hour.
During Wong Wan’s inspection at the Amaral interchange, the UM rector Dr Zhao Wei also visited the interchange. He thinks that there are enough buses there for UM students and is pleased with current conditions.
A UM student, Mr Leong, said that he needed around an hour to reach UM from his home at Sa Lei Tou. He said that the time is acceptable but wants more buses travelling between Sa Lei Tou and the Amaral interchange.

9.4 pct of students fail high school

The academic failure rate at a secondary level reached 9.4 percent over the 2012/2013 school year, according to the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ).
Data provided by DSEJ to Radio Macau also shows that four percent of students attending complementary secondary courses failed the year. In primary school, academic failure rate reached 3.2 percent, which represents a slight increase compared to previous years.
The school dropout rate was also up, reaching 0.18 percent against a 0.12 rate recorded in 2011/2012.
A specialized committee looking into the “Students Assessment Scheme” had asked the government to cancel grade retention in primary schools. DSEJ’s deputy sub director, Mr Wong Kin Mou, said that a decision is yet to be made. “We are still having discussions. Nothing has been confirmed. We will take those suggestions into account to better proceed with reforms to students’ assessment,” he said.
The committee suggested last month that primary school students are “too young” to repeat a school year, as they may feel discouraged from learning.
Wong Kin Mou said that there are studies suggesting that grade retention has negative effects in students.
The new school year kicked off yesterday. Out of 77 schools, 60 have already opened their doors to students. This year, there are over 72,000 students enrolled in Macau’s schools, representing a decrease in secondary school years, and an increase in primary educational institutions.  CP

João Pedro Lau