Excellence in Research - Faculty of Construction and Environment

Technology Transfer
Public Transport Enquiry Services
Hong Kong is a highly urbanised city with a complex public transport system. Everyday more than four million local
residents and tourists rely on the public transport system. At present, there are several different modes of public
transport in Hong Kong including rail, bus, minibus, ferry and taxi. Passengers may find information concerning these
services on the websites of the respective operators in order to select a suitable route. However, this information is
limited as it is confined to a single mode of transport. In other words, there is a lack of information available on how
to travel between places using a combination of different modes of transport.
Dr Lilian Pun, Mr Geoffrey Shea, and Prof. Esmond Mok of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics at
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed “EasyGo”, a pioneering intelligent public transport query and
guiding system in Hong Kong. It assists passengers in making better use of the public transport system by providing
a point-to-point journey-planning system.
EasyGo’s key features include the provision of multi-modal information (e.g. rail, bus, minibus, ferry and tram),
multi-criteria route selection (e.g. fastest route, cheapest route and most convenient route), choice of operating
times (day, night, regular and special services), a bilingual service (including simplified Chinese), and multimedia
presentation of information (text, chart and interactive map).
The project has been commercialised in collaboration with several telecom companies. Furthermore, the EasyGo
Team won a HK$1.2 million government contract for the development of public transport enquiry services (PTES)
for the Transport Department of the HKSAR Government.
As the PTES system became fully developed and was in its maintenance stage, it was test-run by transport operators,
invited societies and educational institutions. The feedback from these groups was positive. The publicity in local
newspapers, magazines and Cable TV together with the formal public launching of the PTES system has greatly
helped to boost the popularity of EasyGo in Hong Kong.
Further afield, companies in the PRC have shown a keen interest in collaborating on a similar system for their cities.
Turning Wastes to Sustainable Construction Materials: the Eco-Block
In Hong Kong, a huge quantity of construction and demolition wastes and waste glass is produced every day. The
disposal of these wastes has become a severe social and environmental problem in the territory. Government
sources have indicated that there are acute shortages of landfill space in Hong Kong, as such, the territory’s three
mega-landfills are expected to be full within five to six years. The possibility of reducing and recycling these wastes
is thus of prime importance. In addition, Hong Kong faces a serious air pollution problem. Many tall buildings in the
city’s densely-populated urban area hinder the circulation of air at street level.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been conducting research on methods to recycle waste and tackle
the air pollution problem. Its solution is the “eco-block”, a new environmental-friendly construction material which
can remove air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides. The eco-block was developed by a team of PolyU researchers
under the leadership of Prof. Chi Sun Poon of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering. The eco-blocks
make use of recycled construction and demolition waste and recycled waste glass derived from beverage containers
to replace natural sand and stone. These not only alleviate the waste disposal pressure in Hong Kong but also
minimise environmental degradation due to the extraction of natural materials.
With the incorporation of a small quantity of photo-catalyst in the design of the eco-block, the eco-blocks are
able to remove air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides. This solution is particularly appealing when the blocks are
used as a paving material in congested down-town areas as it would contribute to improved roadside air quality
by removing air pollutants emitted by buses, cars and other vehicles. The use of recycled waste glass in the blocks
has enhanced the air pollutant removal effect. Experiment results show that at least 20% of nitrogen oxides can be
effectively removed under laboratory conditions.
A series of stringent tests have been conducted on the blocks to test their compressive strength, transverse strength,
drying shrinkage, skid resistance and other durability properties. Long-term site tests and monitoring have also been
conducted. The results demonstrate that the blocks can meet all the requirements of the relevant construction
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