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More shops open, food ban tightens
MTR, meanwhile, said there were 400 to 600 warning cases of eating and drinking on trains each week, accounting for more than half of the total ¡§inconsiderate passenger behavioural cases¡¨ reported, before its ¡§customer care team¡¨ was set up in January last year to further promote cleanliness on trains.
Since then, the number of warning cases has dropped to 130 each week.
The team issued verbal warnings to passengers who violated the by-law during the first three months of its launch. But it has stepped up the action since April last year to issue warning letters when eating and drinking ¡§continues to be a problem¡¨, according to Amy Cheung Hiu-yan, the MTR assistant public relations officer.
¡§The corporation is determined to ensure compliance with by-laws in order to ensure safe and enjoyable journeys for all,¡¨ Miss Cheung said.
Chan Ngar-cheing, supervisor of the MTR by-law enforcement team, which oversees the customer care unit, said if passengers put away their food and drink immediately, patrollers would only advise the passengers not to do so again, but ¡§won¡¦t chase them after to issue warnings¡¨.
If passengers have special physical needs to eat or drink, the patrollers will bring the passengers to an office area next to the control room to consume their food.
Some passengers, however, argued that even though the eating ban should be kept, patrol was unnecessary.
KCR passenger Choi Ho-yin, 22, said signs and public announcements could be used to remind passengers to observe the rule. He said compared to the case in Australia, it was not really common to see passengers here eating, so there was no need for patrolling.
Some other commuters said the enforcement should depend on what kind of food or drink was consumed.
A passenger, who called herself only as Miss Chau, said bread or biscuits should be all right, but not potato chips or noodles. On one occasion, she received a warning for eating a bread roll while waiting for her friend near the customer service centre at a MTR station.
But Miss Chau once saw a passenger standing and eating a bowl of wonton noodles in a crowded carriage. ¡§The soup might spill out and the smell was strong,¡¨ she said. ¡§I think the most important thing is not to disturb other passengers.¡¨
But those passengers who support the eating ban have complained that people always litter after they eat or drink.
MTR deploys a team of staff to patrol on trains.
