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PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
for 70 double deck buses was placed during the year of which 20 have been delivered and put into service.
During 1961, 436 million passengers were carried compared with 375 million in 1960, and the total mileage covered by the Company's buses in 1961 was 35 million miles compared with 29.8 million in 1960.
Tramways. An electric tramway service is operated on Hong Kong Island by Hong Kong Tramways Limited. The track, the gauge of which is 34 feet, is about 19 miles in length if single tracks are measured. It goes from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan, with a branch line round the Race Course in Happy Valley. All routes pass through the City of Victoria. The tramcars are four-wheeled double-deckers, with single staircases, and are designed for single-ended working, the termini having turning circles. The operating current is a 500 volts direct current.
The average daily service of cars run in 1961, was 143. This gave a car every two minutes in each direction on all routes. Through the city area, which is in the centre of the system, the minimum frequency of service was a car every 34 seconds in each direction. The number of passengers carried during the year was 187 million, and the total mileage run was 7.9 million.
Fares are charged at a flat rate for any distance over any route of 20 cents 1st class, and 10 cents 3rd class; the maximum distance is 63 miles. The Company also issues monthly tickets, and con- cession fares are given to children, students and Services personnel.
The Company has taken a leading place in the Colony in provid- ing welfare facilities for its employees. These include free medical and dental services, entertainment, rest rooms, sport and low rent housing.
The Peak Tram. The Peak Tramways Co Ltd, runs a funicular railway service up the Peak, which rises steeply behind the Central district of Victoria. The Company was formed in 1888 to provide transportation for residents of the old Peak Hotel which no longer exists. The original haulage equipment was steam driven, but in 1925 the tramway was modernized and the machinery was changed to a system of haulage of the mining type which, with modification, is still used.