HONG KONG 2004 - Transport

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.

Rail travel accounts for some 30 per cent of the total daily public transport volume. The railways in Hong Kong are built and operated by two railway corporations, the KCRC and MTRCL. The KCRC is wholly owned by the Government. The MTRCL was formerly wholly owned by the Government but was privatised in 2000 to become a listed 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 was commissioned in 1910. It is the oldest railway system in Hong Kong. It was formerly operated by the Government until the KCRC's establishment in 1982. The KCRC now runs East Rail (including Ma On Shan Rail), West Rail and Light Rail and provides feeder bus services and inter-city rail services.

East Rail, with its terminal extended from Hung Hom to East Tsim Sha Tsui on October 24, now runs from East Tsim Sha Tsui to Lo Wu at the boundary. There are 14 stations along the 35-kilometre route and the railway carries an average of nearly 800 000 passengers daily. In recent years, the KCRC has made rapid progress in a number of capital projects on East Rail, including the train refurbishment project, commissioning of new trains, noise reduction project and upgrading of the signalling system.

Ma On Shan Rail, which is part of the East Rail Extensions project, was commissioned on December 21 to serve the Ma On Shan and Sha Tin areas. There are nine stations along the 11.4-kilometre route which carries about 89 000 passengers daily.

West Rail runs from West Kowloon to Yuen Long and Tuen Mun. It started operation on December 20, 2003. There are nine stations along the 30.5-kilometre route and the railway carries an average of more than 130 000 passengers daily.

Light Rail, which started operation in 1988, provides local public transport in the north-western New Territories. Light Rail carries nearly 360 000 passengers daily. To enable Light Rail to effectively integrate with West Rail, three stops were upgraded and a new one was built to provide convenient interchanges with West Rail. An extension of Light Rail to the newly developed Tin Shui Wai Reserve Zone came into operation in December 2003.

To enhance the operational efficiency and safety of Light Rail, the KCRC completed the Light Rail Grade Separation works at Tsing Lun Road, Tuen Mun. The project included construction of a 300-metre Light Rail viaduct crossing over the junction between Light Rail and road traffic at Tsing Lun Road, and a pedestrian footbridge with a lift to the west of the Light Rail viaduct. In addition to the alleviation of road traffic during peak hours, the viaduct can reduce the journey time by two to three minutes and enhance the safety of Light Rail. To allow rail passengers to enjoy better feeder service, the KCRC also ran a total of 22 bus routes providing services to East Rail, West Rail and Light Rail passengers.

The KCRC also provides inter-city through train services from Hong Kong to cities in Guangdong as well as to Shanghai and Beijing. Apart from passenger services, the KCRC provides rail freight services to some 60 cities in the Mainland.

While operating railway lines totalling more than 110 kilometres, the corporation has been making progress to construct and plan new railway lines, including the Sheung Shui to Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, the Kowloon Southern Link and the Sha Tin to Central Link, to meet the increasing demand for rail services.

The former Mass Transit Railway Corporation was established by statute in 1975 to operate the MTR. In February 2000, the Legislative Council passed legislation to privatise a portion of the Government's shares in the company. The MTRCL was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in October that year. The first passenger train service on the Kwun Tong Line of the MTR began in 1979. The MTR was subsequently expanded to include the Tsuen Wan Line (1982), the Island Line (1985), the Eastern Harbour Crossing rail tunnel which connects the Kwun Tong Line to Quarry Bay (1989), the Tung Chung Line (1998) and the Tseung Kwan O Line (2002). The MTR carries a weekday average of 2.4 million passengers. The company also operates the Airport Express Line, a dedicated rail link between the airport and the city centre. The Airport Express Line carried a daily average of 22 000 passengers.

Apart from operating the heavily patronised MTR network of 87.7 kilometres in length, MTRCL is constructing the Disneyland Resort Line for target completion in 2005 to provide rail service from Sunny Bay to Hong Kong Disneyland, which will open in September 2005.

Electric trams have been operating on Hong Kong Island since 1904. The Hong Kong Tramways Limited operates six 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 kilometers 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 largest fleet of double-deck trams in operation. The trams record a daily average of 232 000 passenger trips. Fares are $2 for adults and $1 for children aged 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 began operation in 1888 and was modernised in 1989. The Peak Tram recorded an average of 11 000 passenger trips a day, mostly consisting of tourists and local sightseers. One-way fares for adults, children aged under 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above were $20, $6 and $7 respectively.

Taking into account the Peak Tramways Company Limited's provision of stable and satisfactory service and its plans to further improve the Peak Tram's operation and passenger facilities, the operating right of the company has been extended for 10 years from January 2004.

The other road-based passenger transport modes — mainly franchised buses, public light buses, taxis and residents' services — account for 64 per cent of all public transport journeys. Franchised buses are the largest road-based carriers and account for about 37 per cent of the total daily public transport volume.

Local bus services in Kowloon and the New Territories are largely provided by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB). At year-end, the company operated 387 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories; 23 and 29 cross-harbour routes jointly with Citybus Limited (CTB) and New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) respectively; and 11 cross-harbour routes on its own.

The KMB fleet comprised 4 141 licensed vehicles at year-end; 3 614 were air-conditioned and 1 651 wheelchair-accessible. KMB recorded 1.06 billion passenger trips (a daily average of 2.91 million passenger trips) and covered 342.8 million kilometres during the year. Its fares ranged from $1.60 to $38 for regular routes. Children aged under 12 and elderly passengers were offered concessionary fares on all the company's routes.

Local bus services on Hong Kong Island are provided by NWFB and CTB. At year-end, NWFB operated 55 bus routes on Hong Kong Island, 10 serving Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O and 33 cross-harbour routes, 29 of which were operated jointly with KMB. It had a licensed fleet of 695 buses; of which 694 were air-conditioned and 524 wheelchair-accessible.

NWFB recorded 184.6 million passenger trips (a daily average of 504 451 passenger trips) and covered 56.4 million kilometres during the year. Its fares ranged from $3 to $34.20 for the regular routes. Concessionary fares were offered on all routes to children aged under 12 and elderly passengers.

CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. One of the franchises comprises 65 bus routes on Hong Kong Island and 31 cross-harbour routes, 23 of which are operated jointly with KMB. Another franchise comprises a network of 16 routes linking major districts in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon with Tung Chung and the airport.

At year-end, CTB had a licensed fleet of 911 buses, all of which were air-conditioned, and 129 wheelchair-accessible. The company recorded 210.8 million passenger trips (a daily average of 575 964 passenger trips) and covered 84.2 million kilometres during the year. Its fares ranged from $2.50 to $45 for the regular routes. Concessionary fares were offered to children aged under 12, and elderly passengers on Hong Kong Island routes (except recreational routes) and on cross-harbour and Tung Chung/airport routes.

The Long Win Bus Company Limited provides bus services between the New Territories and Tung Chung/the airport. The company recorded 22.3 million passenger trips (a daily average of 60 942 passenger trips) and covered 23.5 million kilometres during the year. At year-end, 144 buses were serving a total of 15 routes; all were air-conditioned and 136 wheelchair-accessible. Fares ranged from $3.50 to $28 for the regular routes. The company offers concessionary fares for children aged under 12 and elderly passengers on all routes.

The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited mainly provides bus services on Lantau Island. The company recorded 12.1 million passenger trips (a daily average of 32 945 passenger trips) and covered 5.4 million kilometres during the year. It runs 24 routes with a licensed fleet of 86 vehicles. Its fares ranged from $2.50 to $40 for the regular routes. Children aged under 12 and elderly passengers are offered concessionary fares on all routes.

Bus-Bus Interchange schemes are being introduced to encourage more efficient use of bus resources and limited road space and to allow more choice for passengers. Fare discounts are offered to passengers when interchanging among designated bus routes. By year-end, a total of 150 Bus-Bus Interchange schemes had been implemented, involving a total of 385 routes.

Non-franchised bus services perform a supplementary role in the public transport system. They mainly serve tourists, groups of residents, employees and students, and help to reduce peak hour demand for other public transport services. At year-end, there were 7 212 registered non-franchised buses of which 6 888 were in operation.

The Transport Advisory Committee completed a review of the licensing and regulatory framework for non-franchised bus operation in July and recommended to the Government a series of measures to strengthen its regulation. The Government has examined the proposed measures in consultation with the transport trades. Subject to further consultation with the Legislative Council, the Government plans to implement the measures to better regulate the licensing and operation of non-franchised bus services.

Hong Kong's minibuses are licensed to carry a maximum of 16 passengers. At year-end, there were 6 214 licensed minibuses. Of these, 4 328 were public light buses (PLBs), and 1 886 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 (GMBs) provide scheduled services with fixed routeing, fares, vehicle allocation and timetables stipulated by the Transport Department. There were 2 660 GMBs operating 352 routes which recorded a daily average of 1 236 500 passengers trips. Red minibuses (RMBs) are not required to operate on fixed routes or timetables and may set their own fares, but they are subject to certain restrictions on their operating areas. There were 1 668 RMBs in operation and they recorded a daily average of 469 500 passengers trips during the year.

The Transport Department and the Quality Public Light Bus Service Steering Committee have continued to launch a series of schemes to improve the quality of PLB service. Four strategies in terms of 'communications', 'operators', 'drivers' and 'vehicles' were adopted to implement the projects. To enhance communication between the passengers, the trade and the Government, the seventh issue of the PLB Newsletter was published in April. Two seminars on 'How to Set Up and Manage a Company Effectively to Operate New GMB Routes' and 'Maintenance and Operation of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) PLBs' were held for the operators in April and June respectively to improve the trade's management skills and operational safety. The Transport Department also assisted the Vocational Training Council to launch the 'Advanced PLB Driver Training Course' of the Skill Upgrading Scheme with effect from April.

As for vehicles, the Transport Department continued to promote and facilitate the provision of on-board facilities for passengers including electronic payment systems, passenger call bells and display of passenger hotline numbers. To enhance passenger safety on PLBs, legislation on the provision of high back seats and seat belts on PLBs became effective on August 1, 2004. A series of publicity activities was organised to promote the awareness of passengers and drivers on this new legislation. The Transport Department has also started consultation with the PLB trade on the mandatory installation of speed display units on all PLBs.

The Government introduced incentive schemes in August 2002 to encourage the early replacement of diesel light buses by vehicles operating on LPG or electricity. PLB owners who replace their diesel vehicles with those using LPG or electricity may apply for a one-off grant of $60,000 or $80,000 respectively. Owners of diesel private light buses who opt to switch to LPG will be exempted from the first registration tax (electricity-driven vehicles are already exempted from the tax). The deadline for applications was end-2004 for diesel light buses that are 10 years old or over, and end-2005 for those that are less than 10 years old at the time of de-registration. At year-end, 1 321 LPG PLBs and 91 LPG private light buses were operating on the roads. One electricity-driven private light bus was in operation.

At year-end, there were 15 250 urban taxis (coloured red), 2 838 New Territories taxis (coloured green) and 50 Lantau taxis (coloured blue) in operation. The three types of taxis carried about one million passenger trips per day.

To improve the operating environment for taxis, the Transport Department extended until January 31, 2005 a temporary arrangement, which was introduced in May 2003 to allow taxis to pick up and set down passengers in all peak hours and '7 am to 7 pm' restricted zones on roads with speed limits of less than 70 kilometres per hour. At year-end, over 220 taxi pick-up/drop-off points and 46 taxi drop-off points had been designated. To facilitate taxi operations, additional taxi stands and taxi pick-up and drop-off points were provided at West Rail stations, Ma On Shan Rail Station, and the East Tsim Sha Tsui Station of East Rail.

In April, the Transport Department worked with the Education and Manpower Bureau to launch the Skills Upgrading Scheme to provide training courses to in-service road passenger industry drivers, including taxi drivers. The Transport Department and the Quality Taxi Services Steering Committee continued to develop schemes to improve the quality of taxi service. Twenty Quality Taxi Drivers and some 800 Meritorious Taxi Drivers were commended for good conduct and quality taxi service. To provide useful information to taxi drivers and passengers, seven light emitting diode display panels and eight information plates have been installed at various taxi stand. Leaflets were distributed to tourists/taxi passengers to provide useful information on taxi services. A total of 150 000 and 20 000 leaflets were distributed at the airport and the Lok Ma Chau Control Point respectively. In addition, the Transport Department published 14 issues of Taxi Newsletters and distributed 40 000 copies per issue to taxi drivers free of charge.

Ferries provide essential transport links to outlying islands where no land transport alternatives are available, and an alternative transport service within the inner harbour and to other areas in Hong Kong.

At year-end, one ferry operator provided two cross-harbour franchised passenger ferry services and 11 ferry operators provided 28 licensed passenger ferry services to the outlying islands and across the harbour. These franchised/licensed services were supplemented by about 79 kaito services which provided services to relatively remote parts of Hong Kong.

Ferries recorded a daily average of about 95 459 passenger trips within the harbour and about 59 506 passenger trips to/from the outlying islands.