Rail, bus, ferry and other public transport services offer Hong Kong commuters a good choice of different transport modes at reasonable fares and different levels of comfort, speed and convenience.

Railways account for some 30 per cent of the total daily public transport volume. The railways are built and operated by the two railway corporations, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL). KCRC is wholly owned by the Government. MTRCL was formerly wholly owned by the Government but was privatised in 2000 to become a public limited company with the Government remaining as a major shareholder. Both corporations operate on prudent commercial principles providing efficient, reliable and safe passenger rail services to the public.

The KCR East Rail (formerly known as the KCR) was introduced in 1910. It is the first and oldest railway system in Hong Kong. The railway was formerly operated by the Government until the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) was established in 1982. The KCR East Rail runs from Hung Hom in urban Kowloon to Lo Wu at the Mainland boundary. There are 13 stations along the 34-kilometre route and the railway carried an average of 791 000 passengers daily in 2000. In recent years, East Rail has made rapid progress in a number of capital projects, including the Train Refurbishment Project, station improvement projects and the upgrading of the signalling system. East Rail also operates Intercity through train services from Hong Kong to the Guangdong cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan and Zhaoqing as well as to Shanghai and Beijing. Apart from passenger services, East Rail carries containers, general cargo and livestock between HKSAR and the Mainland and provides intermodal services covering major cities in the Mainland and more than 15 other international cities in the world. The KCRC has also made significant progress on new railway projects, including the West Rail (Phase I), the MOS Rail and the TST Extension, while the Spur Line is undergoing the statutory processes.

The KCRC also operates the Light Rail Transit (LRT), which started operation in the north-western New Territories in 1988. The system carried an average of 322 700 passengers daily in 2000. To enable the LRT to be effectively integrated with the West Rail (Phase I), which will be commissioned at the end of 2003, the KCRC will upgrade and modify four LRT stops to provide convenient interchanges with the West Rail (Phase I), and build two new extensions to the rapidly developed Tin Shui Wai area.

The former Mass Transit Railway Corporation was established by statute in 1975 to operate the MTR. The first passenger train on the Kwun Tong Line of the MTR started operation in 1979. The MTR was subsequently expanded to include the Tsuen Wan Line (1982), the Island Line (1985), the Eastern Harbour Crossing rail tunnel connecting Kwun Tong to Quarry Bay (1989) and the Tung Chung Line (1998). The MTR carried a daily average of 2.3 million passengers on weekdays in 2000. The company also operates the Airport Express, which is a dedicated rail link between the airport and the city centre. In March 1999, the Government announced a plan to privatise a substantial minority of its shareholding in the company. The enabling legislation was passed by the Legislative Council in February and the privatised entity, MTR Corporation Limited, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on October 5.

Electric trams have been operating on Hong Kong Island since 1904. The Hongkong Tramways Limited operates six overlapping routes on 13 kilometres of double track along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, and about three kilometres of single track around Happy Valley.

The company's 164 trams, including two open-balcony trams for tourists and private hire and one special maintenance tram, make up the world's only fully double-decker tram fleet. The trams recorded an average of 235 221 passenger trips daily in 2000. Fares were $2 for adults and $1 for children under 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above.

Hong Kong's other tramway is a cable-hauled funicular railway operated by the Peak Tramways Company Limited from Central (Garden Road) to the Peak. The 1.4-kilometre tramway, which began operation in 1888, was modernised in 1989. The tramway served an average of 9 503 passengers a day in 2000, mostly tourists and local sightseers. One-way fares for adults and children were $20 and $6 respectively.

The other road-based passenger transport modes — comprising mainly franchised buses, public light buses, taxis and residents' service — account for 66 per cent of all public transport journeys. Franchised buses are the largest road-based carriers and account for 38 per cent of the total daily public transport volume.

The largest franchised bus operator is the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB). It operates 322 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories; 20 and 29 cross-harbour routes jointly with Citybus Limited (CTB) and New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB), respectively; and 10 cross-harbour routes on its own.

The KMB fleet comprised 4 238 licensed vehicles at the end of 2000, with 3 988 double-deck buses, and 250 single-deck buses, of which 2 392 and 250 were air-conditioned, respectively. Of all the licensed vehicles, 578 were wheelchair-accessible buses.

KMB carried 1.08 billion passenger trips and covered 329 million kilometres in 2000. Its existing franchise commenced on September 1, 1997, and will expire on July 31, 2007. Fares ranged from $1.20 to $38. Children under 12 and elderly passengers were offered concessionary fares on all KMB routes.

Local bus services on Hong Kong Island are provided by NWFB and CTB. At the end of 2000, NWFB operated 60 bus routes on Hong Kong Island, two routes serving Tseung Kwan O and 32 cross-harbour routes, 29 of which were jointly operated with KMB. It had a licensed fleet of 730 buses of which 705 were air-conditioned and 511 were wheelchair-accessible buses. Its fares ranged from $2.40 to $34.20.

Concessionary fares were offered on all routes to children under 12 and elderly passengers. The company's bus services carried 187 million passenger trips and covered 55.5 million kilometres in 2000.

CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. One of the franchises comprises 66 bus routes on Hong Kong Island and 25 cross-harbour routes, 20 of which are jointly operated with KMB.

The other franchise comprises a network of 16 routes linking major districts in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon with Tung Chung and the airport.

At the end of 2000, CTB had a licensed fleet of 960 buses, all of which were air-conditioned buses, and 267 were wheelchair-accessible.

CTB's fares ranged from $2.50 to $45. Concessionary fares were offered to children under 12 and elderly passengers on Hong Kong Island routes (except recreational routes) and on cross-harbour and Tung Chung/airport routes.

The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (NLB) provides bus services on Lantau Island. It runs 22 routes with a licensed fleet of 84 vehicles. Children under 12 and elderly passengers are offered concessionary fares on all routes.

The Long Win Bus Company Limited (LW) provides bus services for Tung Chung and the airport. At the end of 2000, a total of 159 buses were serving a total of 15 bus routes: all were air-conditioned buses and 149 were wheelchair-accessible. The routes mainly linked the New Territories with Tung Chung and the airport. LW also offers concessionary fares for children under 12 and elderly passengers on all routes.

To allow more route choices to passengers, encourage more efficient use of existing bus resources and reduce the number of buses along busy corridors, seven new Bus-Bus Interchange (BBI) schemes were introduced from March. They are located at Kwun Tong Road, Western Harbour Crossing, Causeway Road, Wan Chai Ferry, Tin Shui Wai town centre, Tate's Cairn Tunnel and Admiralty.

A study on the feasibility of introducing a trolley bus system in Hong Kong was commissioned in March. The study is expected to be completed in early 2001. It will provide a clearer idea on whether trolley buses are feasible and financially viable in Hong Kong as a public transport mode.

Non-franchised bus services mainly provide residents' service and employees' service, and serve groups of tourists and students on a group-hire basis. They perform a supplementary role in the public transport system by providing services primarily during peak hours. At the end of 2000, there were 6 352 licensed non-franchised buses.

Hong Kong's minibuses are licensed to carry a maximum of 16 passengers. At the end of 2000, there were 6 394 licensed minibuses. Of these, 4 343 were public light buses (PLBs), and 2 051 were private light buses. Private light buses are authorised to carry only group passengers and are not allowed to collect separate fares.

There are two types of PLBs: 'green' and 'red' minibuses. Green minibuses provide scheduled services with fixed routeing, fares, vehicle allocation and timetables stipulated by the Transport Department. There were 2 360 green minibuses operating 320 routes and carrying about one million passengers a day in 2000. Red minibuses are not required to operate on fixed routes or timetables and they may set their own fares, but they are subject to certain restrictions on service areas. At the end of 2000, there were 1 983 red minibuses that carried 551 000 passengers daily.

A six-month trial on the use of alternative fuel for minibuses began in June. A total of 15 minibuses, powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or electricity, joined the trial. If the trial is successful, operators will be encouraged to switch over to use the cleaner alternatives.

At the end of 2000, there were 15 250 urban taxis (coloured red), 2 838 New Territories taxis (green) and 50 Lantau taxis (blue), carrying a daily average of 1.1 million, 210 000 and 1 400 passengers respectively.

In 2000, a number of schemes were launched to improve the quality of taxi service. These included two taxi driver award schemes, through which recognition was given to about 500 drivers for their good performance; a self-learning English and Putonghua training programme distributed free of charge to enhance the language proficiency of taxi drivers; and quarterly newsletters published to enhance communication among taxi operators and the Government.

During the year, the Transport Department continued to introduce relaxations for taxis at restricted zones to strengthen their role as a personalised, point-to-point service. Restrictions at a total of 75 locations were relaxed in 2000 to allow taxis to pick up and set down passengers. The law was also amended to permit the provision of taxi drop-off points in restricted zones and, in this regard, 11 taxi drop-off points were designated in 2000.

The conversion of diesel taxis to the cleaner liquefied petroleum gas taxis progressed smoothly during the year. To provide incentives for the conversion, a cash grant scheme was introduced, with $40,000 given for each conversion. LPG refilling capacity also increased substantially with the opening of the five dedicated LPG stations in October and November, bringing the total number of LPG stations to 12 and offering capacity for 8 000 taxis. At end-2000, 4 305 LPG taxis were operating on the roads.

Ferries provide an essential mode of transport for the outlying islands. In the inner harbour and for the new development areas, ferries offer a supplementary mode of transport to buses and the railways.

Major ferry services are provided largely by the Star Ferry Company Limited (SF) and the New World First Ferry Services Limited (NWFF).

In 2000, SF carried about 78 100 passengers per day across the harbour on its two franchised ferry services from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central and Wan Chai, and two other licensed ferry services. Fares ranged from $1.70 to $5.30, and elderly passengers enjoyed free travel. NWFF operated eight services of which six served the outlying islands. A total of about 37 700 passengers were carried per day in 2000. Fares ranged from $4.50 to $31, and elderly passengers aged 65 and above enjoyed concessions.

At end-2000, apart from the two franchised ferry services operated by SF, there were altogether 14 licensed ferry operators providing 29 regular licensed passenger ferry services to the outlying islands and across the harbour. These were supplemented by 77 kaito services — local ferries providing limited services to remote coastal settlements or recreational sites.