Archive:Hong Kong Mass Transport Study/Chapter 2

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Chapter 1 — Introduction

Hong Kong Mass Transport Study, Chapter 2 Existing Public Transport

Chapter 3 — Forms of Public Transport

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EXISTING PUBLIC TRANSPORT

1. Public transport services in Hong Kong are provided by buses, trams, passenger ferries, suburban trains and taxicabs. The few remaining rickshaws no longer play a significant part in the transport system.
2. Scheduled public transport services are provided by seven separate undertakings, all of which are private enterprise companies except the Government-owned railway. Three of these transport agencies operate on Hong Kong Island, two on the mainland and the other two provide ferry services between. The proportion of total passenger movements served by each undertaking is shown in Table 2.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PASSENGERS — 1966

TABLE 2

AREA AND UNDERTAKING	TYPE OF SERVICE	PASSENGERS CARRIED
		Number	Per Cent of Total
Hong Kong Island:
Hong Kong Tramways Co., Ltd.	Tram	181,589,000	14.7
China Motor Bus Co., Ltd.	Bus	186,561,000	15.0
Peak Tramways Co., Ltd.	Cable tram	2,174,000	0.2
		370,324,000	29.9
Mainland:
Kowloon Motor Bus Co., Ltd.	Bus	643,120,000	51.9
Kowloon-Canton Railway	Suburban train	8,734,000	0.7
		651,854,000	52.6
Harbour and Islands:
Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd.	Ferry	161,074,000	13.0
Kowloon-Canton Railway	Ferry	56,332,000	4.5
		217,406,000	17.5
TOTAL		1,239,584,000	100.0
SOURCE: Preliminary World Highway Statistics—1965, International Road Federation.

3. Although the number of private cars has increased rapidly in recent years, public transport continues to be the dominant means of personal travel. Its importance is demonstrated by the fact that over 3.3 million public transport rides are made each day. Contrary to trends in many other parts of the world, public transport patronage in Hong Kong has not only consistently increased year after year, but has increased at a much faster rate than the population. Substantial increases in private car registrations may be expected in the future, as growing population and business activity generate more movement and living standards continue to rise. Public transport, however, with its intrinsic capacity for efficiently moving large numbers of people, will continue to be the principal means of travel in the foreseeable future.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE AREAS

4. At present, 91 per cent of all public transport journeys are made in the 29 square miles of urban Hong Kong and Kowloon, and by ferry between these two areas. The other 9 per cent are made in the remaining 369 square miles which include the outlying islands. Table 3 shows the distribution of 1966 public transport riding by areas.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC
TRANSPORT PASSENGERS

TABLE 3

AREA	PASSENGERS		LAND AREA
	Number	Per Cent of Total	Square Miles	Per Cent of Total
Urban area:
Hong Kong Island	348,870,000	28.1	13.4	3.4
Kowloon	568,817,000	45.9	15.6	3.9
Between Island and Kowloon	210,239,000	17.0	—	—
Subtotal	1,127,926,000	91.0	29.0	7.3
Suburban Areas:
Hong Kong Island	21,454,000	1.7	15.8	4.0
New Territories	83,037,000	6.7	353.3	88.7
Outlying ferry services	7,167,000	0.6	—	—
Subtotal	111,658,000	9.0	369.1	92.7
TOTAL	1,239,584,000	100.0	398.1	100.0

5. Route Coverage — All built up portions of the urban area are within a quarter-mile of one or more public transport routes. Most areas are served by more than one route and direct service is provided between many different combinations of terminals. Although there is overlapping and duplication of routes, the high population density, volume of traffic and complex patterns of movement, warrant this unusual service. Figure 4 shows the existing public transport routes in the urban area and nearby suburban communities.
6. The suburban areas and rural communities also have good public transport coverage. Almost every major road in these areas is served by one or more bus routes. Local services within the suburban areas and to the urban centres are extensive. There are direct ferry services to suburban and rural points, and the railway provides commuter service from some outlying communities directly into the centre of Kowloon. In the New Territories many small vehicles, operating generally on fixed routes and schedules, compete with the bus and railway services.
7. Cross-harbour Travel — The interdependence of development on both sides of the harbour generates massive demand for journeys between the two sides and necessitates a water transport link in every such journey. This has had a significant influence on the development, route pattern and cost of public transport services. The significance of the cross-harbour movements is reflected in Figure 5, which shows the daily use of the ferry routes which have developed to meet this travel need.
8. Only one out of every four ferry riders makes his full journey without using other transport; the majority must use other services to complete their trips. Both urban and suburban bus routes are oriented to the ferry movements and have major terminals at most ferry piers. The passenger station of the Kowloon-Canton Railway is adjacent to a main ferry terminal, and the tram line is within two to three blocks of the ferry piers on the Island. Nevertheless, the walking distance involved in using ferries is considerable and, despite the frequent service on most routes, their use adds appreciably to the time required to complete many journeys.

Figure 4 — Existing Public Transport Routes

Figure 5 — Cross-Harbour Passenger Trips—1965

PUBLIC TRANSPORT TRENDS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PASSENGERS IN RELATION
TO POPULATION 1954-1966

TABLE 4

YEAR	PUBLIC TRANSPORT PASSENGERS		ANNUAL RIDES PER CAPITA
	Number	Per Cent Increase
1954	516,460,000	—	227
1955	553,063,000	7.1	236
1956	594,201,000	7.4	244
1957	640,597,000	8.0	248
1958	683,135,000	6.6	249
1959	723,156,000	5.8	253
1960	813,471,000	12.5	273
1961	892,540,000	9.7	285
1962	975,745,000	9.3	301
1963	1,034,686,000	6.0	308
1964	1,095,547,000	5.9	316
1965	1,164,695,000	6.3	325
1966	1,239,584,000	6.4	335

9. Public transport passengers carried annually for the past 13 years by the seven scheduled services are shown in Table 4. There have been annual increases of between 5.8 and 12.5 per cent since 1954. While the largest percentage increases occurred in the early 1960's, the growth rate over the past four years has been steady at about 6 per cent per year.
10. In 1966, the number of public transport passengers was nearly 2.5 times that of 1954; the population, however, had only increased by 1.5 times. Over this period, the annual number of public transport rides per capita increased from 227 to 335. Thus public transport patronage reflects not only an increase in population, but an increase in the number of rides taken by each person.
11. In assessing the volume of transport riding, it should be borne in mind that each time a traveller boards a vehicle he is counted as a passenger, as there are no through-ticketing or transfer arrangements between different companies, nor between different lines operated by the same company. The number of trips, therefore, is less than the aggregate of the number of passengers recorded on each vehicle. This is significant in assessing both the amount and cost of public transport travel. The establishment of direct single-vehicle service between points which at present require the use of two or more transport vehicles can result in recording fewer passengers without changing the number of person-trips.
12. Geographical Distribution — While every division of transport riding has shown an increase, the increase has varied between geographical areas and between undertakings. The variations by geographical area are shown in Table 5. While public transport travel as a whole increased by 140 per cent between 1954 and 1966, it rose 215 per cent in Kowloon and the New Territories.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PASSENGERS BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA

TABLE 5

AREA	1954		1966		PER CENT INCREASE (1954-1966)
	Number	Per Cent	Number	Per Cent
Hong Kong Island	199,453,000	38.6	370,324,000	29.9	86
Mainland	206,610,000	40.0	651,854,000	52.6	215
Harbour and Islands	110,397,000	21.4	217,406,000	17.5	97
TOTAL	516,460,000	100.0	1,239,584,000	100.0	140

13. Urban and Suburban Distribution — Trips within the urban areas of the Island and Kowloon increased by 130 per cent, while travel to and within suburban areas rose 341 per cent, as shown in Table 6. However, suburban travel still forms less than 10 per cent of the total.

URBAN AND SUBURBAN DISTRIBUTION OF
PUBLIC TRANSPORT RIDING

TABLE 6

AREA	1954		1966		PER CENT INCREASE (1954-1966)
	Number	Per Cent	Number	Per Cent
Urban	491,134,000	95.1	1,127,926,000	91.0	130
Suburban	25,326,000	4.9	111,658,000	9.0	341
TOTAL	516,460,000	100.0	1,239,584,000	100.0	140

Figure 6 — Annual Public Transport Passengers by Undertakings

14. Distribution by Undertakings — Each of the seven undertakings has shown increases in patronage since 1954 as indicated in Table 7. These increases have been consistent from year to year, the only exception being tram passengers, which have decreased by about five per cent from their 1963 peak year. Kowloon Motor Bus Company passengers have increased 216 per cent since 1954, and now account for over half of the total public transport riders. China Motor Bus Company passengers have risen 233 per cent, displacing the trams as the second largest group of riders in 1966. The ferries carry a smaller proportion of the total travel, and the Kowloon-Canton Railway still accounts for less than one per cent of all trips. The yearly number of passengers handled by each undertaking since 1954 is depicted in Figure 6. It is significant that the proportion of travel by bus has increased from about 50 per cent to 67 per cent in the past 12 years.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT PASSENGERS BY UNDERTAKINGS

TABLE 7

UNDERTAKING	1954		1966		PER CENT INCREASE (1954-1966)
	Number	Per Cent	Number	Per Cent
Kowloon Motor Bus Co., Ltd.	203,246,000	39.4	643,120,000	51.9	216
China Motor Bus Co., Ltd.	55,950,000	10.8	186,561,000	15.0	233
Hong Kong Tramways Co., Ltd.	141,613,000	27.4	181,589,000	14.7	28
Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd.	75,897,000	14.7	161,074,000	13.0	112
Star Ferry Co., Ltd.	34,500,000	6.7	56,332,000	4.5	63
Kowloon-Canton Railway	3,364,000	0.7	8,733,000	0.7	160
Peak Tramways Co., Ltd.	1,890,000	0.3	2,174,000	0.2	15
TOTAL	516,460,000	100.0	1,239,584,000	100.0	140

15. Per Capita Expenditures on Public Transport — The people of Hong Kong are spending more each year for public transport. This is because they are riding more and, in many cases, making longer journeys. Table 8 shows the average expenditure per person for each of the past five years.

ANNUAL PER CAPITA EXPENDITURE
ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT

TABLE 8

YEAR	TOTAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT EXPENDITURE	EXPENDITURE PER CAPITA
1961	$124,874,000	$41.89
1962	$135,025,000	$43.09
1963	$150,718,000	$46.43
1964	$166,304,000	$49.51
1965	$175,900,000	$50.67

16. Factors Affecting Public Transport Usage — All the conditions favourable to high public transport patronage are present in Hong Kong. These include:
    1. a large and steadily increasing population;
    2. high level of employment and business activity;
    3. high density of population and employment;
    4. low private car ownership;
    5. extensive off-peak, mid-day, night and week-end travel;
    6. low public transport fares; and,
    7. high frequency of service and extensive route coverage.
    These conditions tend to change slowly, so high patronage can be expected to continue for many years.

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FARES

17. Except for minor changes resulting from route extensions or rearrangements, public transport fare rates have not been increased for over 20 years until the adult first-class rate on the Star Ferry was raised in May 1966. With this single exception, which affected only two per cent of the riders, all data in this chapter relates to a stable fare structure.
18. Fares are based either on fare sections which roughly measure the distance travelled, or on the classes of accommodation within the vehicles for which different fares are charged. On the railway and some outlying ferry services, fares are measured by both distance and class. Cash fares are collected by hand, either at turnstiles or by conductors on the vehicle. Except on the ferries, tickets indicating the distance and/or class of fare paid are issued and are subject to inspection to detect non-payment or under-payment of fare. There are no transfers, either free or paid, between vehicles of the same or of different companies. The passenger pays a new fare at each change of vehicles.
19. Average Fares — The average fare per passenger on all transport services for the past six years is shown in Table 9. With no change in the basic rates, the minor fluctuations in average fare are due either to a greater proportion of passengers travelling longer distances where section fares apply, or to changes in the proportion of passengers enjoying reduced fares, such as monthly tickets and student rates.

AVERAGE FARES

TABLE 9

YEAR	AVERAGE FARE PER PASSENGER (CENTS)
	Bus, Tram and Train	Ferry	All Services
1961	15.0	16.1	15.2
1962	14.7	16.1	14.9
1963	15.2	16.2	15.4
1964	15.9	16.1	15.9
1961	16.0	16.2	16.0

20. Regular Fares — The regular cash fares charged by the public transport systems are approximately as follows:

Trams	20 cents first class, 10 cents "second" class, for distances up to 6.6 miles.
Buses, urban areas	10 cents for the first fare section of approximately one mile, 20 cents for more than one section up to 7.5 miles on Kowloon routes; 10, 20, 25 and 30 cent first section fares on the Island, with 10 cent section increments.
Buses, to suburban areas	30 cents to $1.10, depending on distance travelled; 10 to 30 cents for short trips within suburban areas.
Suburban trains	40 cents to $3.00 first class, 30 cents to $2.25 second class, and 20 cents to $1.50 third class, depending on distance travelled; maximum distance 22 miles.
Peak tram	40 to 60 cents depending on distance travelled; full distance 0.8 miles.
Ferries, between urban areas	20 or 25 cents first class, 10 cents "second" class; maximum distance one to 2.5 miles.
Ferries, to suburban areas	50 cents to $1.20 first class, 40 cents to $1.00 "second" class, depending on distance travelled.

21. It is important to bear in mind the distinction between the total cost of a complete journey and the amount paid on each separate vehicle. While the basic cash fares of 10 cents and 20 cents are quite low (equivalent of 1½d and 3d Sterling or 1.75 cents and 3.50 cents U.S.), the multiple-mode journeys required between many points involve a higher total cost. For example, a trip of less than three miles may involve the following total fares:

MODE	1ST CLASS	2ND CLASS
Tram	20 cents	10 cents
Ferry	25 cents	10 cents
Bus	10 cents	10 cents
TOTAL	55 cents	30 cents

22. Variations in Fares — Fares in Hong Kong vary widely between undertakings, both in the regular cash fares related to distance, numbers and types of reduced fares offered and proportions of passengers entitled to reduced rates. Over all, however the average fare per passenger produced by the various fare schedules of each undertaking bears a relationship to the cost per passenger, as shown in Table 10.

23. The average fare on the five major companies ranges from a low of 12.9 cents to a high of 18.1 cents. Operating costs per passenger range from 9.7 to 16.0 cents, reflecting differences in passenger volumes, trip lengths, speeds, passengers per mile and unit operating costs.
24. Section Fares — Three of the six companies serving the urban area have fares related to distance, or section travelled. The Kowloon Motor Bus Company has a 10 cent charge for the first section of approximately one mile, and a maximum charge of 20 cents for travel in two or more sections in the urban area, up to 7.5 miles. Since one third of its passengers travel through three to five sections, as indicated by Table 11, this fare structure is only partially related to distance travelled.
25. On its suburban lines operating in the New Territories, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company has 11 fare sections, ranging from 10 cents for shorter distances to $1.10 for a 22 mile trip. China Motor Bus Company's fares are based on an initial section of 10 cents, with 2 additional sections in the urban area producing a maximum fare of 30 cents, and additional stages up to 80 cents for an 8.5 mile trip in the suburban areas. Lines which operate in the mid levels on very steep grades have 20 and 25 cent fares for 1.5 to 2.5 mile journeys. The fare for the 10 mile trip to the Peak is 70 cents. A fare of $1.00 for a 10.6 mile journey is charged on limited services in the suburbs. The Peak Tram cash fare is based on two sections, half-way for 40 cents and full distance for 60 cents.

26. Reduced Fares — It appears from company records that about 38 per cent of all public transport passengers pay fares which are less than the first-class cash rate. These rates include second and third-class fares, low cost monthly tickets for both adult and student riders, and lower cash rates for children, students and members of the military services. There is a wide variation among the different companies in the proportion of passengers paying less than the first-class rate. These range from 24 per cent on the China Motor Bus Company lines to 97 per cent on the Kowloon-Canton Railway, as shown in Table 12.

27. Class Fares — The tram, railway and ferry services have different charges for different classes of accommodation. The trams and ferries have two classes; first class on the upper deck and second class or "third class" on the lower. On the trams, the second-class deck has longitudinal seats while first class has forward-facing seats. On the ferries the first-class accommodation is partly enclosed and has more comfortable seats, while the second class has benches, less enclosed area and fewer seats. The suburban trains have three classes, occupying different carriages on the same train. The first class is in newer and more comfortable carriages, second class in somewhat older cars with closer seat spacing and third class in carriages with wooden seats. The Peak Tram does not have a class fare as such, but sells reduced fare worker's tickets which may be used only in the unenclosed rear part of the car. There are no class fares on the buses.
28. The percentage of passengers paying the lower class fare varies from 34 per cent on the Yaumati Ferry to 87 per cent on the Kowloon-Canton Railway. On the Star Ferry, after the increase in the first class fare, the percentage of second-class cash riders increased from 50 to 67 per cent.
29. Children, Students, and Armed Forces Reduced Cash Fares — All transport companies except the Peak Tram have a 10-cent cash rate for children, which applies from 4 to 12 years of age on the trams and buses, and to age 16 on the ferries. Since this rate is applicable at all hours, it applies to both school and non-school travel for children who do not purchase monthly student tickets at an even lower cost per trip.
30. The Hong Kong Tramways, which carries children under 12 years of age with no identification, also permits students 12 to 18 years of age to travel for 10 cents on presentation of an identification card from their school.
31. Military personnel in uniform are carried at the children's rate on all services except the Star Ferry and the Peak Tram. The Peak Tram has a 40 cent rate for any distance for military personnel.
32. Since the second-class fare on trams and ferries is also 10 cents, this reduced cash rate offers a reduction only to children, students and military personnel using first-class accommodation.
33. Monthly Tickets — Monthly tickets for adults are offered on all urban services and on some suburban lines. Adult monthly tickets are valid for an unlimited number of rides during the month, for any number of fare sections and in all classes of accommodation, except on the railway, where station-to-station monthly tickets are sold for each of the three classes. The cost of adult monthly tickets is $18 on buses and trams, $10 on the Star Ferry and $8 on the Yaumati Ferry. For convenience, three- and six-month tickets are sold by the Star Ferry, but at no further reduction in cost.
34. Monthly student tickets are sold for all urban services except the trams. Those of the Kowloon Motor Bus are good for four rides per day except on Sundays and cost $6, while those for both ferry companies are sold for $4.
35. The numbers of rides estimated by each company to be taken on its monthly tickets, and the resulting average fares, are shown in Table 13.

36. Fare per Mile Travelled — There is only a partial relationship between fares and distance travelled, even on those services which have section fares. The Kowloon Motor Bus urban structure of 10 cents for the first section travelled and 20 cents for all additional sections, which may exceed seven miles, is in effect a flat fare with a reduced short-journey rate, rather than a true zone fare. The China Motor Bus rates are more closely related to distance, but the fare differentials are in some cases also related to type of terrain. The overlapping route pattern of the three Hong Kong Tramways lines creates a rough distance-zoning for long journeys, but the number of these is small in relation to the total. The cross-harbour ferries charge the same for all journeys, but the greatest distance is only three miles. Suburban area services are generally more closely related to distance travelled.
37. The maximum distances that may be travelled for a basic cash fare on each service are shown in Table 14. Except for the Peak Tram, the cash fare per mile for the maximum distance on each service ranges from 2.7 to 13.6 cents for first-class, and 1.5 to 10.2 cents for second-class. In contrast the estimated average receipts on London Transport buses, which have only one class of service, are 22.7 cents per passenger mile.

38. Stability of Fare Structure — Except for a five cent increase for first-class travel on the Star Ferry, the basic fare rates have not changed for 20 years. The average fare per passenger rose from 15.2 cents to 16.0 cents between 1960 and 1965 as shown in Table 15. This was due primarily to increases in journey length.

39. The maintenance, substantially unchanged, of a fare structure established in 1946, is a major achievement. This has been done without any direct or indirect subsidy from Government. On the contrary the companies make substantial royalty payments to Government and at the same time produce profits for their share holders. A number of favourable factors make these results possible. The growing and increasingly mobile population and a rapidly expanding economy are primary factors. The constriction of the population and employment into a compact land area is also important as is the almost complete absence of pronounced peak hours of the day or peak days of the week. All of these factors have produced a very high number of passengers per mile of service. The future level of fares will depend on how much longer the companies can continue to absorb major increases in labour and material costs within the revenues produced by the present fare structures.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT TRAVEL

File:MTS Fig7.png

Figure 7 — Hourly Variation of Public Transport Travel—1965

File:MTS Fig8.png

Figure 8 — Daily Variation of Public Transport Travel—1965

File:MTS p13 pubtrans.png

40. The patterns of work, shopping, school and personal travel produce riding characteristics which are favourable to public trans port. Hong Kong has essentially a 7-day week, and a 17-hour a day public transport operation, without sharp peaks and without sub stantial monthly fluctuations.
41. Hourly Variation — Practically all public transport riding takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight and is distributed very evenly with the highest hour accommodating 8 per cent of the total passengers and the lowest 4.5 per cent, as shown in Figure 7. The significance of this relatively level hourly pattern of riding is graphically demonstrated by the comparison with London shown in this figure. The London pattern is typical of the severe peak hour conditions which confront most transport operations, where nearly 60 per cent the day's riding occurs in 4 of the 24 hours, while in Hong Kong only 29 per cent of the total is compressed into these 4 hours. Particularly noteable is the fact that riding levels in Hong Kong remain high during the middle of the day and in early evening hours until about 10:00 p.m.
42. Daily Variation — The relatively even distribution of transport riding over each of the seven days of the week, as shown in Figure 8, also contributes to efficient and productive use of equipment and manpower. Kowloon Motor Bus and the Kowloon-Canton Railway, which serve the New Territories, and the Peak Tramway, which serves sightseeing and recreational activities, have the highest percentage of patronage on Sunday. The Star Ferry, which caters primarily for business movements between the Central District and Kowloon, has the lowest proportion of its total weekly business on Sunday. The daily distribution is favourably influenced by the fact that many businesses operate six days and some seven days a week.
43. The Hong Kong daily distribution may be contrasted with that common in Western cities of about 17 per cent on weekdays, 12 per cent on Saturdays and 3 per cent on Sundays.
44. Monthly Variations — There are no significant variations in the transport riding pattern between the different months of the year. The proportion of annual traffic per month, adjusted for the number of days in each month, runs from 8.1 per cent in July to 8.7 per cent in February. The most significant factors affecting monthly variations are the Chinese New Year and the typhoon season.
45. Short Journey Characteristics — Another factor conducive to low-cost public transport is the short average trip length on any particular route. Since a full additional fare is collected every time a passenger boards a vehicle, longer multi-mode journeys do not adversely affect revenue. The route lengths fix the distance that can be travelled for a single fare. The longest and shortest one-way route distances in urban areas, suburban areas, and between the two, are shown in Table 16.

46. Proportion of Travel by Public Transport — Extensive traffic counts of vehicles and persons moving along several major urban corridors on typical weekdays show that as many as 76 out of every 100 persons travelling in vehicles do so by public transport. On Hong Kong Island, approaching Central District, buses and trams account for less than 8 per cent of the total vehicles moving on the streets, but transport over 67 per cent of the total persons. Private cars constitute 55 per cent of the total vehicles, but carry less than 18 per cent of the total persons, despite a relatively high occupancy rate of 1.8 persons per car.
47. On Nathan Road, the number of taxicabs actually exceeds the number of private cars. Together, these two types of vehicles carry 13 per cent of the total movement, but constitute 59 per cent of the total vehicles. On Prince Edward Road at the Kowloon City roundabout, buses constitute less than 11 per cent of the total vehicles, but accommodate over 76 per cent of all person-movement.
48. The drivers in all classes of vehicles, including goods vehicles and taxicabs were counted. Goods vehicles are used extensively in Hong Kong, not only to carry drivers and helpers, but also to transport workers to and from job sites. The percentage of total person-movement in goods vehicles is high on both sides of the harbour, being 4 per cent of the total in Hong Kong and 11 to 12 per cent in Kowloon.
49. Other surveys have shown that a large proportion of the private vehicles and taxicabs counted at any given point are circulating in search of parking spaces or customers. If this is taken into account, and only through-movements counted, the proportion of travel by public transport is even higher.
50. The proportion of persons entering and leaving the central city areas in Hong Kong by public transport compares closely with the 75 to 78 per cent reported for large metropolitan areas, such as New York and London, which have extensive rapid-transit systems.

OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS

51. The seven scheduled public transport undertakings operate 1,764 passenger vehicles on 121 routes, covering 782 one-way route miles, of which 592 miles are on land and 190 miles over water. Approximately 81 per cent of the passengers are carried by the three bus and tram companies, 18 per cent by the two ferry companies and 1 per cent by the Kowloon-Canton Railway and the Peak Tram. The basic statistics for each are summarised in Table 17. A detailed account of the operating characteristics of each undertaking is contained in the appendix.

52. Passengers per Mile — The most noteworthy feature common to all the undertakings except the Railway is the extremely high number of passengers per vehicle mile. The number of passengers per mile is a measure of the average fare needed. It is affected by the length of average journey and the capacity and loading of each vehicle and is also very strongly influenced by other factors such as the time and direction of travel. When a high proportion of total travel is concentrated into a few peak hours, with much lighter traffic during the rest of the day, the number of passengers per mile is much smaller than in communities such as Hong Kong where the volume of riding is so consistent throughout the day. Similarly, when riding is heavy on Saturdays and Sundays as in Hong Kong, the number of passengers per mile will be higher than in cities where, although little riding takes place on these days, a minimum service must still be operated. Table 18 compares the passengers per mile in several cities with those in Hong Kong. This table indicates that the number of passengers per mile is much greater in Hong Kong than in most cities, including those which have rapid transit.

53. Characteristics of Buses and Trams Operating in the Same Territory — The Hong Kong Tramways and the China Motor Bus Company are the only companies which, to a large extent, serve the same area. A comparison between the flow of passengers by bus and by tram in and out of the eastern side of the Central District at Murray Road on a typical weekday, indicates that the bus lines have sharper peaks. During the eight heaviest hours (7:00 to 10:00 a.m., noon to 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.) there are more stand ing passengers on the trams (20 per cent) than on the buses (17 per cent), but in other respects the load characteristics are quite similar, as indicated in Table 19.

File:MTS p14 tramstop.png

File:MTS p14 busstop.png

54. During the eight peak hours, buses carry 60 per cent of their total daily passengers while the trams carry only 52 per cent. Figure 9 shows that tram riding maintains a higher level during the midmorning and does not drop below the level of the noon peak in mid-afternoon as the buses do. The late evening riding is also higher on the trams than on the buses.
55. The absence of pronounced peaks on the trams is probably due to a number of factors. Because tracks clearly mark them, the routes are better known to the occasional rider. Also, tram service is maintained at nearly peak-hour frequencies throughout the day. On the other hand, peak-hour riders who make the same trip every day will test alternative modes of transport and use the one they consider most convenient. Reasons for higher peak-hour bus use appear to be that (a) the buses cater for the regular peak-hour riders by increasing service, and by providing vehicles which originate in the Central city area and are thus less likely to arrive at busy stops already full; (b) the boarding of waiting bus passengers is better regulated by queue rails and company employees at busy stops so that passengers feel that they have a better chance of getting on the buses in proper order, while passengers on the tram islands have more of a scramble to get on the vehicle; (c) journey time surveys show that on an average, buses are about 21 per cent faster than trams in the same travel corridor; and (d) the tram lines are more distant from ferry terminals than some of the bus lines.
56. Bus and tram services are well tailored to demand, in both peak and off-peak hours, as indicated by the fact that the average of 52 persons per vehicle in the rush hours only drops to 35 per vehicle in the off-peak.

File:MTS Fig9.png

Figure 9 — Tram and Bus Passengers East of Central District

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

57. The furnishing of public transport services to a metropolitan area requires major capital investments in vehicles and equipment. The interest, renewal and replacement reserve, and return on this investment is a considerable part of total cost of service. The capital outlay for new passenger vehicles is particularly heavy where patron age is increasing, and large numbers of new vehicles must be acquired to provide additional service as well as to replace older vehicles as they wear out.
58. The passenger equipment used in public transport service on December 31, 1965, totalled 1,772 buses, tramcars, railway train carriages and ferry vessels, having a combined seating capacity of 124,051 persons. These vehicles cost more than $l90-million. This cost will be considerably increased as the older units are replaced at current higher prices. Fifty five per cent of all vehicles have been purchased since 1960. A summary of the various types of passenger vehicles used by the seven undertakings is shown in Table 20.
59. Cost of Passenger Vehicles — The low cost of equipment and the provision of funds for its purchase from depreciation accounts and accumulated net earnings, has an important bearing on the low fare structures. Most of the passenger equipment has been purchased by the privately-owned companies without incurring interest charges for long-term loans. Renewals and replacement reserves, or depreciation charges, in 1964-65 totalled only slightly more than 6 per cent of gross revenues, a relatively low figure.
60. Based on the most recent purchases, new buses cost approximately $105,000 for double-deck and $80,000 for single-deck units. These prices are 30 to 40 per cent less than the cost of buses of similar capacity in the United Kingdom and the United States. Generally, the chassis components are purchased in England and assembled locally. The bodies are also built locally. The lower price is due in part to reduced standards, particularly in items such as body panel ling, floor covering, windows, seats and ventilation. The Hong Kong double-deck tramcar is manufactured locally with a minimum of imported components and with a relatively simple design.
61. Because of increasing traffic, the tendency has been toward larger vehicles. This includes the replacement of single by double-deck buses and the reduction of number of seats to provide more standing space. At the end of 1965, 42 per cent of the buses were double-deck. The average seating capacity of double-deck buses ranges from 66 to 73 against the 34 to 37 seats for single-deck buses. Accordingly, the substitution of double-deck buses increases seating capacity at a higher rate than the numerical increases in number of vehicles.
62. The average seating capacity of buses is 52 for the Kowloon Motor Bus Company and 41 for the China Motor Bus Company fleet. The capacity of the tramcars is 60 and the railway carriages average 90 seats per unit. The passenger ferries average over 500 seats.
63. Buses — In the four-year period 1961-65, the two bus companies spent $39 million on new vehicles, a sum equal to 10 per cent of their gross revenues for this period. This amount was considerably more than the $25 million renewal and replacement reserves. No long-term debt was incurred for the purchase of the new buses or for major capital additions for land and new depot facilities. All capital purchases have been met from revenue.
64. Double-deck buses were first purchased by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company in 1949, and now constitute 53 per cent of their fleet. Because of the steep grades on some of its routes, the China Motor Bus Company fleet has less than 20 per cent double-deck units. The average age of buses of both companies is about seven years.
65. Tramcars — The short, narrow-gauge, double-deck Hong Kong tramcar is a trademark of the city. This 12-ton car is 29 feet long, 14 feet 9 inches in height and is designed for operation on a 3-foot 6-inch narrow gauge track, with 36-foot radius curves. The size and design of the car results in a roadway space occupancy of three square feet per seat, compared with four to six square feet per seat for most tramcars. All the cars are identical in design and appearance.
66. In 1964 the company designed and built a 5-ton, 29-foot single-deck trailer car 9 feet in height. A total of 11 of these trailer cars are now in service. The motor tramcars built in recent years cost approximately $154,000 each and the new trailer cars approximately $56,000.
67. Railway Carriages and Locomotives — The passenger carriages of the Kowloon-Canton Railway at the end of 1965 were made up of 10 first-class carriages with 64 seats each, 13 second-class carriages principally of 64 seat capacity, 35 third-class carriages with capacities ranging from 108 to 128 seats and 12 third-class with 50 to 67 seats. The aggregate original cost of these 70 carriages was nearly $18 million.
68. All the passenger carriages are trailer cars towed by diesel electric locomotives of modern design. The railway has eight locomotives which are used jointly with the goods services. The newest locomotives were purchased in 1961 at a cost of $1,318,000 each, and the latest passenger carriages range in cost from $365,000 to $467,000 each.
69. The original cost of the capital assets of the Kowloon-Canton Railway represents an investment of $54 million. The track and roadway cost was $16 million, buildings, stations, machinery and tools $5 million, and rolling stock $33 million.
70. Cable Tramcars — The Peak Tramway has 3 cars, 38 feet long and 9 feet wide. These 72-seat cars were built in the past 10 years at a cost of approximately $80,000 each.
71. Passenger Ferries — The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company has 54 passenger ferries and 3 combination passenger and vehicular ferries. The 57 passenger vessels have a total capacity of 29,472 seats. The company also owns 11 vehicular ferries which do not have separate accommodation for passengers. The average cost of the most recent large vessels is approximately $1,400,000 and for the smaller vessels around $600,000.
72. The Star Ferry Company fleet consists of 14 vessels, averaging 502 seats each. All but two of these vessels have been built since 1954. The Star Ferry fleet was increased by 40 per cent with the construction of four new vessels in 1964 and 1965 at a cost of over $1,700,000 each.

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• File:MTS p16 ferry.png
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FINANCIAL RESULTS

73. Based on the most recent 12-month periods available for each of the seven undertakings. Hong Kong public transport riders paid $176 million in fares and the companies received an additional $4 million in revenue from miscellaneous sources related to passenger operations. From each dollar of revenue, 62 cents were spent on operating expenses, 6 cents on depreciation, or renewals and re placement reserve and 16 cents on payments to the Government. There remained 16 cents as net operating revenue available for payment of interest, retirement of debt and return on capital invested.
74. The conditions under which the financial data were made available prevent the publication of revenues and expenses for individual companies. The consolidated totals for all seven operations are shown in Table 21.

75. File:MTS p17 queue.png

    While the percentages of revenue consumed by various items of expense, particularly in royalty payments, vary from company to company, the figures for the five major companies are reasonably consistent with the composite totals. The figures for the suburban railway and the Peak Tram, which have different operational characteristics, are less comparable. However, the proportion of total business handled by these two undertakings is so small that the composite total is not significantly affected by their inclusion.
76. Cost per Mile — Since the per-mile cost of operating a public transport vehicle is substantially the same whether the vehicle is full or empty, the number of passengers per vehicle mile is a measure of the fare required from each passenger to cover the cost of operations. For example, if the cost is $1 per mile and 10 passengers per mile are carried, a fare of 10 cents per passenger will cover the costs. If, because of diminished patronage, less off-peak riding, or longer average journeys, the number of passengers per mile drops to 5, then a 20-cent fare would become necessary. The cost per mile may increase due to rises in the cost of wages, materials, taxes or other expenses. It may also increase if speed is reduced by traffic congestion so that more buses, drivers and conductors are required to provide the same service. If the cost per mile increases from $1 to $1.30, then the fare has to be 13 cents if the passengers per mile remain constant at 10. However, if the cost per mile increases to $1.30 and at the same time the number of passengers per mile drops to 5, then the fare has to be 26 cents per passenger.
77. Although the number of passengers per vehicle mile is in creasing, the expense per mile is increasing more rapidly. This is shown in Table 22 which covers the operation of the bus and tram companies only. If this tendency continues, it will undoubtedly result in the need for fare increases.

78. Number of Employees — On surface public transport systems, manpower is the largest item of operating cost. Table 23 shows that the number of public transport employees has increased more than 38 per cent over the five-year period. In the same period, however, passengers increased by about 65 per cent, indicating that a better utilisation of manpower has been achieved through the use of larger vehicles and more careful staffing policies.

79. Royalties — Under the provisions of their franchise ordinances, each privately-owned transport undertaking pays the Government a royalty. This payment is in addition to normal rates, taxes, duties and rents paid to the Government for facilities such as ferry piers. The bases of royalty payments, which total $29 million annually, are shown in Table 24.

80. Debt Service Expenses — None of the private companies reported any long-term debt in 1965, and interest payments were limited to temporary short-term borrowing. On the railway, annual interest amounts to about 8 per cent of gross receipts and the amortisation of debt principal requires another 6 per cent.
81. The absence of interest charges is not an indication, however, that major capital expenditures have not been made. These have been paid for largely from depreciation reserves and from risk capital, including accumulated net earnings. Table 25 shows that in a six-year period 816 new vehicles were acquired at a cost of $103 million. In addition, substantial investments have been made for land, buildings, machinery and equipment.

82. Passenger Operations of Railway — Operational data for the publicly-owned railway are published and are not subject to the disclosure limitations which apply to the financial results of the privately-owned transport companies. An analysis was made to separate the revenues and expenses of the passenger services from those of the goods services. A basis of allocation of expenses was agreed with railway officials as representing a valid apportionment between the two types of service.
83. Revenues from passenger services were $8.1 million and from goods trains $7.2 million in the financial year ending March 31, 1967. From the aggregate revenue of $15.3 million in that year, the railway had a net income of $4.5 million, of which $0.8 million was required for amortisation of long-term debt, leaving surplus earnings of $3.7 million. However, on the basis of the allocations of expense, the passenger services had a net income, after interest, of $104,000 which was $284,000 less than was needed to meet its share of debt retirement, while the goods services produced surplus earnings of $3.9 million.

NON-SCHEDULED PUBLIC TRANSPORT

84. In addition to the passenger vehicles owned by the scheduled transport undertakings, 5,368 vehicles, other than private cars and goods vehicles, were available for use by the public at the end of 1965. The majority of these, as shown in Table 26, were taxicabs and other vehicles clearly plying for hire. A smaller number, consist ing of privately-owned buses and hire-cars, was available to limited groups. These 5,368 vehicles had an estimated seating capacity of 34,000 people as contrasted with 125,000 seats on the scheduled transport vehicles.
85. Private Buses — A total of 252 buses having a seating capacity of 7,235 are operated by 123 separate owners for special uses. These owners include schools and business firms operating buses for the transport of their own students or employees, and a few owned by sightseeing and tour companies, hotels and hire-car companies.
86. The private buses have an average age of less than four years. The oldest buses are owned by business firms and schools, and the newest by hire-car and sightseeing companies.

87. Metered Taxicabs — There were 1,892 regular metered taxicabs at the end of 1965, of which 886 were licensed to operate on Hong Kong Island and 1,006 in Kowloon. The taxicabs on Hong Kong Island were owned by 59 companies or individuals, of which 35 were individuals owning a single cab each. In Kowloon the taxicabs were owned by 25 companies or individuals, of which 8 were one-cab owners. Table 27 indicates that the number of metered taxicabs in Hong Kong and in Kowloon has nearly doubled since 1961.

88. The fares for metered taxicabs on Hong Kong Island are $1.50 for the first mile or less, and 25 cents for each additional quarter-mile. The rates in Kowloon are $1 for the first mile or less, and 20 cents for each additional quarter-mile. 89. New Territories Vehicles — Two types of small vehicles are used in the New Territories to provide a type of service normally performed by buses. These include 644 vehicles, of which some are ordinary cars and some are 9-passenger buses, known as "New Territories taxicabs". Many of them are not operated as taxicabs, transporting a single person or a group of persons who hire the exclusive use of the vehicle, but as fixed-route buses, with each passenger paying a fare for travel only over the route and between the stopping places scheduled by the operator. The New Territories taxicabs are operated by 72 individuals or firms who maintain a joint organisation for limited purposes under the name of "The New Territories Taxi Owners Association". Most of the vehicles are painted a distinctive checker-board design and have regular stopping places at Kowloon ferry piers and at various points in the New Territories.

89. File:MTS p19 van.png

    The other category of New Territories vehicle is the "dual-purpose" van of which 2,065 were licensed as of December 31, 1966. These vehicles are intended to carry both goods and passengers. In practice they are frequently used solely for transporting passengers. The dual-purpose vehicles have increased in number very rapidly and constitute a substantial competition to the Kowloon Motor Bus Company, which has the exclusive franchise to transport persons in public buses in the New Territories.
90. Unlicensed Taxicabs — In addition to the regular metered taxicabs, substantial taxi services are performed by vehicles not licensed as cabs. These are commonly known as "pak pais", meaning "white plate" (the colour of private car number plates). Records of the number of private cars devoted to this illegal use are not available, but it is apparent that pak pais accommodate a substantial part of the taxicab-type travel on both sides of the harbour. They collect passengers both by booking in advance and by casual pick-up. Since the vehicles are not marked in any way, they serve as a sort of private-car-with-chauffeur for many people.
91. This type of service is also operated with public cars which have red number plates. The number of public cars (red plate) have increased in recent years as indicated in Table 28. While public cars are intended as ordinary hire-cars, whether self-driven, or with driver furnished, some of these are used as illegal taxis.