periods. As to the latter, the demand continued to be heavy due to the excellent facilities and convenient location.
48.
The Tolo Harbour Tour which has been jointly organized with the Hong Kong Yaumati Ferry Co. Ltd. since January 1975 continued to be popular both with local people and tourists as it provided an interesting and refreshing half-day outing to see some of the most picturesque areas in the Tolo Harbour area in the New Territories.
FINANCE
49.
The Operating Accounts Notes and Analyses are published in Appendices I to IX of this report. The format of the Accounts and Notes has been amended to conform with the standardisation of Government Departmental Operating Accounts and the figures for 1976/77 financial year have also been amended for the purposes of comparison.
Income
50.
Total income during 1977/78 increased by $5.554 m from the previous financial year a rise of 14.2%. Growth was attributable mainly from :-
(i)
Passenger Services
Traffic grew by 12.2 m journeys to 14.5 m which was an increase of 18.8% and chiefly resulted from more passengers travelling to China and greater commuter and leisure travel between the New Territories and Kowloon Station. Overall there was a 29.7% increase in revenue.
(ii) Goods Services
The kilogram kilometres increased from 46,142 m to 51,200 m which was an 11% rise and livestock imports rose 16.4%. These items contributed to an overall increase of 13.6% in goods services receipts.
(iii) Postal and other Government Usage
(iv)
Income from this source showed a 10.8% increase mainly from an upturn in the Postal Traffic to China and the issue of Government warrants.
Rent and Miscellaneous Receipts
There was a slight increase in revenue from these sources compared to the previous year-about 0.5%.
Two items which showed a reduction in income were :-
(i)
Subsidy for Scholar Tickets
Although the sale of scholar tickets actually rose during the period the method of calculation was amended to produce a more accurate assessment and this produced a reduction in subsidy of $295,000.
8