| ← | Contents | Hong Kong Mass Transport Study, Chapter 1 Introduction |
Chapter 2 — Existing Public Transport | → |
INTRODUCTION
- Hong Kong Island was formally occupied by a British naval party on the 26th of January, 1841 and a few days later, Captain Charles Elliot proclaimed it a British colony and the name Victoria was conferred on the settlement. The convention of Peking in 1860 ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to Great Britain and it became a part of the Hong Kong Colony. By the convention of Peking in 1898, the New Territories, including 235 islands, were leased to Britain for 99 years.
- The first report on population in June, 1845, indicated a total of 23,817 people. By the outbreak of World War II, the population had grown to 1,600,000. During the Japanese occupation many people left and it is estimated that the population had dropped to 600,000 by August 1945. The number of people tripled by the end of 1947 and has continued to increase rapidly ever since. The 1961 census showed a population of 3,133,100 and in 1966 the population was estimated to be 3,696,400, an increase of 18 per cent in 5 years.
- Most of the land area of Hong Kong and Kowloon is mountainous. In many places the hills rise directly out of the sea leaving little flat land suitable for habitation. However, much of the water around the colony is sufficiently shallow to permit easy reclamation. Reclamation has continued steadily since 1851 when a small creek was filled to form what is now Bonham Strand. Thus, Hong Kong is exceptional in that it grows in both population and land area each year, all within the same geographic boundaries.
- The Colony was originally established as a trading post and a headquarters for British trade and administration. Because of its excellent harbour and geographic position at the mouth of the Pearl River, 76 miles from Canton, it was ideally situated for such purposes.
- Although Hong Kong is incapable of supporting a large population with its own food and water resources, it has from the beginning attracted many people from mainland China. A good harbour, combined with a large and energetic population, has developed Hong Kong into the huge industrial complex of today. Forty per cent of its labour force is employed in the manufacture of various commercial products. Large quantities of raw materials are imported, pass through various manufacturing processes and are then distributed throughout the world.
BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF STUDY
- In 1963 the London Transport Board and the Road Research Laboratory were invited to advise the Hong Kong Government on questions of transport. Late that year, representatives of these agencies visited Hong Kong and recommended the formation of a permanent transport study team.
- In 1964 the Passenger Transport Survey Unit (PTSU) was established as a branch of the Public Works Department under the technical direction of the staff of the Road Research Laboratory. The terms of reference for the PTSU provided for surveys to obtain factual information about present passenger movements and then determine the likely influence of future developments on the patterns of these movements. In 1967 the unit was made a permanent organisation called the Traffic and Transport Survey Unit (TTSU). It is responsible for keeping the requirements of traffic and transport under continuous review, to keep all survey data up-to-date and to forecast future traffic and transport trends.
- Early in 1965 it became apparent to the Hong Kong Government that there was need for a more detailed study of public mass transport. It was decided that this work should start at about the same time as the basic data were available from the PTSU studies. To this end, an agreement was made in July, 1965, by the Hong Kong Government with Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith and Associates, Consulting Engineers, for a Mass Transport Feasibility Study.
- The agreement was:
- to study all known forms of public transport systems and evaluate their comparative potentialities for the conditions of Hong Kong;
- to devise alternative routes for the potentially more attractive systems and make a more detailed evaluation of these in terms of such factors as capital cost, running cost, quality of service and capacity;
- to ascertain the existing, short-term and long-term (1986) potential travel demands, in a form to enable alternative transport systems to be compared for cost, benefit and suitability in relation to general planning policy; and,
- to formulate a recommended functional plan of public transport development for implementation by stages with recommended types and estimates of capital cost, annual revenue and expenditure.
STUDY AREA
- The area dealt with in this study consists of the entire Colony of Hong Kong. Specific mass transport studies have been made for the existing urban area and for travel between those planned for the near future. During the course of the study agreement was made to include general suggestions about mass transport needs within the new towns planned for the New Territories.
THE PROBLEM
- One of the principal reasons for the existence of cities is to serve the need for people to have fast and efficient access to their work, shopping, entertainment and to one another Commerce and industry can only function effectively with good access to employees and customers. In fact every activity conducted in an urban centre is dependent on transport, and the economic efficiency of a city rises or falls according to the strength or weakness of its transport system.
- The three most important factors which cause urban travel to increase are:Although Hong Kong has had a large and rapidly growing population for many years, it has been mainly concentrated in a relatively small urban area, with residential, commercial and industrial land uses intermingled. The density and distribution of population and business activity has kept transport demands within manageable proportions. However, rapid increases in all these factors, combined with the fact that there is only limited room to expand present transport facilities, has created the need to investigate more efficient means for transporting large masses of people.
- growth in population;
- expansion of the physical size of the urban area; and,
- a rising standard of living.
- In Hong Kong there is great dependence on public transport and in some parts of the community, almost all personal travel is by this means. Surveys indicate that as an overall average, public transport accounts for approximately 75 per cent of personal trips. High population density, limited average family income, limited road mileage and shortage of space for parking, all contribute to this dependence. These factors are generally very slow to change so it is likely that this state of affairs will prevail for many years.
- A study of past trends gives an indication of the problems which will have to be faced in the future. Figure I shows the population trend between 1900 and the present day. Except for a drop during World War II, this graph shows that the population is growing at a very rapid rate. Since the area of the Colony has changed only negligibly the population density has increased at approximately the same rate as the population. The overall density of population for the entire Colony is now 9,300 persons per square mile. However, this does not reflect the effective population density from the standpoint of transport requirements. Approximately 81 per cent of the population is concentrated in 29 of the Colony's 398 square miles. Population densities range over 100,000 persons per square mile; most of the Colony's business and commercial activity is concentrated into this small, densely urbanised area, and over 90 per cent of public transport journeys are made within it.
- As the Colony and its inhabitants become more prosperous, more people will travel and trip lengths will increase. Similarly, as the overall standard of living increases, people who previously made few journeys, many of which were on foot, will begin to use public transport. The upper income groups will increase and swell the demand for private cars and the road space to use them. Figure 2 shows that these factors are already in operation. Both use of public transport and vehicle registration are increasing at a faster rate than population. This is an unusual condition, but one that is likely to continue, as better job opportunities for the low income groups become more readily available in new industrial and urban developments.
- The trend in motor vehicle registrations in Hong Kong since 1954 is shown in Figure 3. Private cars constitute the largest category of vehicles, followed by goods vehicles and motor-cycles. The smallest category—less than 2 per cent of the total—are public buses. This becomes quite significant when the percentage of bus travel is considered.
- In 1948 there was one motor vehicle for every 174 people in the Colony. By the end of 1966 this figure had changed to one vehicle for every 40 people. Although vehicle registrations increased at a lesser rate in the past two years, the trend continues consistently upward. While the present ratio of vehicles to population in Hong Kong does not approach the 2 to 8 people per vehicle already reached in the United States and many European countries, the limited land and road area creates problems in the movement and storage of even the motor vehicles now in use. Table 1, which was developed by comparing the number of vehicles with miles of roadway in other countries, shows that there are only two countries with more vehicles per mile of road than Hong Kong. The combination of a large number of vehicles per mile of road with rapidly increasing vehicle registration, very high urban densities and a shortage of developable land, must lead to extremely congested traffic conditions in the future unless action is taken.
| COUNTRY[a] | MILES OF IMPROVED ROADS[b] |
VEHICLES[c] | VEHICLES PER MILE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monaco | 23 | 9,343 | 406.2 |
| Gibraltar | 18 | 6,465 | 359.2 |
| Hong Kong | 564 | 77,230 | 136.9 |
| Canal Zone (Panama) | 141 | 15,425 | 109.4 |
| Puerto Rico | 3,839 | 306,000 | 79.9 |
| Bahamas | 189 | 14,464 | 76.5 |
| Netherland Antilles | 358 | 26,800 | 74.9 |
| Bermuda | 131 | 9,327 | 71.2 |
| Austria | 13,642 | 852,944 | 62.5 |
| Indonesia | 3,272 | 300,000 | 56.9 |
| Italy | 118,061 | 5,684,121 | 48.2 |
| Great Britain | 199,743 | 9,566,000 | 47.9 |
SOURCE: Preliminary World Highway Statistics—1965, International Road Federation.
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- Apart from the ferry services, the Kowloon-Canton railway, and the Peak tramway, all public transport movement is by bus or tram on the surface road system. This means that road congestion will have the same adverse effect on public as on private transport. The competition for road space, between all the various vehicles, will adversely affect not only the efficient running of public transport, but also the free flow of people and goods. This could seriously damage Hong Kong's economy.
GENERAL PLAN OF STUDY
- Extensive research has been undertaken to obtain the information necessary to form a series of recommendations for an objective public transport plan. This research has used procedures already proved valuable and tested by considerable past experience in similar studies.
- Most of the basic travel surveys were conducted by the Passenger Transport Survey Unit (PTSU) during the summer of 1965. These consisted of a home-interview type origin-destination survey, multiple screen line origin-destination surveys, travel time surveys, traffic volume surveys and various special surveys to obtain information about particular travel characteristics. Most of these surveys were limited to the urban area of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon. Supplementary surveys were later made in the New Territories by the PTSU and as part of this study. A complete description of the surveys conducted by the PTSU is contained in a report entitled "Hong Kong Passenger Transport Survey 1964-1966" prepared by that unit. It also contains extensive descriptions of existing public transport characteristics. These have not been repeated here, except when necessary for clarity.
- The data obtained in the origin and destination surveys were analysed and summarised to relate present travel to such
planning parameters as population, vehicle ownership, employment, household type and family income. By predicting the values and distribution of the planning parameters for 1986, it was possible to forecast 1986 travel. The patterns were converted to passenger
movements and assigned to several alternative public transport systems, thus leading to the system recommended in this report. - Other investigations were conducted concurrently with the analysis of origin and destination information. Studies of tram and bus loading characteristics were made at high load points in several main transit corridors. Surveys of walking and waiting times were made at ferry landings and at other public transport transfer points. A New Territories taxi travel time survey was also made.
- A complete study of the physical and financial characteristic of the seven public transport companies was made early in this investigation. This included an evaluation of routes, terminals, fares, vehicles, passenger loading, income, costs and administration. All of the companies co-operated by supplying the information required. Certain financial information was supplied with the agreement that it would not be published in a form that would make it possible to identify the finances of individual companies.
- A complete evaluation was made, of principal public transport systems throughout the world, whether at present in operation or planned for the immediate future. Particular attention was paid to systems that have been recently completed, or are presently under construction. All available information about these systems was gathered and all new techniques were considered for use in the development of a system for Hong Kong. The relative advantages of underground, overhead and surface systems were considered in view of the special conditions found in this Colony. Various cities around the world were visited to gather first hand information about their transport systems. Many technical and semi-technical reports were obtained and thoroughly analysed. This investigation led to the formation of three alternative transport systems to be tested for use in Hong Kong.
- All physical features affecting location and construction were carefully observed, including topography, utilities, drainage and land use. Every effort was made to take into account current plans for public housing, urban redevelopment, open space, reclamation and various private development schemes. The general land use pattern and its density of development were given careful consideration. Plans already underway, or projected, for major road facilities were studied and related to the findings of this investigation. In brief, the basic aim of the route location studies was to relate the proposed facilities to every aspect of overall planning.
- Approximately two-thirds of the way through the project, the best general public transport system for 1986 was identified and the remainder of the effort was on the design of this system. Estimates of capital and running costs were made, revenues were estimated from the projected traffic volumes, and a stage construction plan was developed. Every effort was made to evaluate right-of-way costs in terms of present market values. The estimates of cost were computed after considering alternative construction methods in the light of conditions likely to be encountered in Hong Kong. Alternative alignments were studied and in each case the total cost was weighed against the level of service. By these means an objective approach has been made to the problem of judging the economic feasibility of the system.
BI-MONTHLY REPORTS
- Reports were submitted to Government every two months throughout the study. In addition to showing progress, these reports contained pertinent information from the various work phases. Each report was followed by discussions with the Transport Advisory Committee and the heads of the various divisions of the Public Works Department. The guidance obtained from these meetings contributed greatly to the general plan of the study.
