Island by the China Motor Bus Company. Both companies have succeeded in increasing the number of buses in service during the year, in spite of difficulties of supply, and there are now 108 buses on the Island, the same number as there were before the war, and 152 on the Mainland. The Kowloon Motor Bus Company took delivery of 79 new buses during 1948 and was able from the middle of the year to reduce gradually the number of converted lorries, seventy of which had been used as buses since the libera- tion. Twenty double decker buses have also been received for service in Kowloon and the New Territories. Only one pre-war route on the Mainland and one on the Island have not yet been reopened; two new routes have been started serving Sai Kung and Clear Water Bay.
Operating costs for both Companies remained high, but some fares on the Island were reduced during 1948 and the Kow- loon Motor Bus Company plans a lower scale of fares which is to be introduced in February, 1949. Buses on the Mainland travel- led 9,650,000 miles and carried about 56.5 million passengers. On the Island buses carried over 20 million passengers over a total distance of nearly 3 million miles.
Ferries
The Star Ferry Co., operates a passenger ferry across the shortest crossing of the harbour from a point in the centre of Victoria to Tsim Sha Tsui at the Southern extremity of Kowloon Peninsula. Five launches are now in service and operate daily for 191 hours, a five-minute service being maintained over the rush periods, a ten-minute service at normal times and a fifteen- minute service in the early morning and late evening. . Over 28 million passengers were carried in 108,800 crossings during the year. In December 90,000 persons were transported daily which is three times the number carried before the war. Fares remained unchanged throughout the year.
The Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd., which operates the vehicular ferry with three vessels was able during the year to resume its pre-war schedule by which ferries sail at twelve minute intervals. Before the resumption of the full service there used to be as many as 150 vehicles waiting in queues after a vessel had left her berth. This improved service was made possible by refloating and re-conditioning the third vessel which was sunk in December 1941.
Alterations made to all three vessels now enable an extra 12 small cars to be carried in side compartments if
necessary.
This company also provides a passenger ferry every ten minutes to Mongkok and Shamshuipo, but it has not yet proved
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