OLIVER CHOU
Head of Operation of MTR Francis Li updates the details of a "Trial Registration Scheme for Carriage of Oversized Musical Instruments" in October. Photo: Felix Wong
A new permit issued by the MTR to allow large musical instruments to be carried on its trains contains "insulting" terms and poses problems for everything from insurance to rehearsal times, arts executives and musicians said yesterday.
The rail operator launched the trial scheme yesterday after a review following an outcry over cases of musicians being ordered off trains. People can apply for permits to carry instruments longer than 130cm, the usual maximum for luggage on the MTR, but no longer than 145cm.
Permit applications will take seven working days to process, but the outcry was instant.
"The devil is in the detail, and I think it is a trap for anyone to sign and agree to the terms under the trial registration scheme," said Ada Wong Ying-kay, a solicitor-turned-arts-advocate and adviser to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.
One clause, for example, says MTR officials have the right to check the instrument and ask the permit holder to prove their identity. But, Wong said: "An instrument is the personal asset of an individual. He or she can allow anyone to borrow it or use it. No authority can deny that right.
"We really cannot allow a public transport provider to continue to insult people like this. If this logic is followed, all over-sized luggage must follow the same registration route which is of course absurd. We will be an international joke."
Richard Bamping, principal cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Photo: Edward Wong
An MTR spokesman replied: "The scheme is a special arrangement outside the normal dimension rule … Registered users … would need to abide by certain safety guidelines and terms and conditions. We appeal to the public for their understanding."
Musicians were also dubious.
"I will not be registering. I can't agree to the conditions - my cello would not be insured under the conditions the MTR has required," said Richard Bamping, principal cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 1993. Under term four of the permit, the MTR is exempted from liability for any damage caused to an instrument in the course of the checks its staff are empowered to carry out.
Bamping was also troubled by a ban on carrying instruments between 8.15am and 9.15am: "I have used the service with my cello frequently for the past 23 years with no problem but if I'm forced to agree to only travel at certain times, and allow any employee of the company to remove my belongings from my hand and do with them as they see fit, it's too much hassle."
Cellists typically started rehearsals at 10am, meaning they faced being late or leaving home extremely early, said a Hong Kong Sinfonietta player.
"It is a shame for a service provider like the MTR to make life difficult for us - who are subsidised by the government to make music - and it is the same government that does not allow us to travel to work," the cellist said.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1875119/devils-detail-hong-kong-musicians-alarmed-mtrs-permit-scheme
