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The first of three new steel diesel-driven combined vehicle and passenger ferry vessels of a completely different design from those used hitherto entered service in October. From December the vehicular ferry has been operating on a 9-minute service. During the year 65 million passengers and over 818,000 vehicles were carried, compared with 42 million and 680,000 respectively in 1949.
The Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co., Ltd. was at the end of the year completing the second of the new vehicular ferry vessels and expected to have the third ready for service by April 1951.
The Cheung Chau service has been further increased to 11 sailings per day on Sundays and holidays to cope with the traffic out to this attractive fishing centre with its fine bathing beaches. The service to Silver Mine Bay has also been increased to cope with the thousands of holidaymakers visiting its justly popular swimming beach, and two additional sailings are contemplated on the service on Sundays and holidays during the summer of 1951. These improved transport facilities are of considerable value to New Territories people. Throughout the year. increasing numbers of hikers have visited the Buddhist monastery at Ngong Ping between Tai O and Tung Chung and large numbers of people have used the ferry service to enable them to spend their holidays walking along the numerous hill tracks and paths on Lantao Island.