168
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
Minibuses
The number of public light buses remained at the permitted maximum of 4,350 vehicles at the end of the year. These 14-seater minibuses, introduced in 1969 to replace the former dual-purpose vans, are mostly individually-owned.
Minibuses generally ply for hire on some 135 established routes, conveying 1.5 million passengers daily. The normal fares charged range from 30 cents to $1.50 on urban routes and from $1 to $2 on cross-harbour routes and on routes to the New Territories. Fares are increased two to three times the normal fare during rush hours, public holidays and on festival days.
In order to reduce obstruction to traffic caused by the constant kerbside stopping and lane changing of minibuses in the urban areas, a number of prohibited and restricted zones have been introduced. Minibuses are also prohibited from operating on Lantau and Tsing Yi Islands and in the Tsim Sha Tsui district.
To avoid wasteful competition with the franchised bus and tram services, which is detrimental to the public transport system as a whole, steps are being taken by government to divert minibuses into a supplementary feeder role in areas unsuitable for conventional buses. Towards the end of the year, 11 additional maxicab routes were introduced on Hong Kong Island bringing to 19 the total number of maxicab services operating at fixed fares and fixed routes on Hong Kong Island. Plans are in hand to progressively introduce another 85 maxicab routes in the urban areas in the near future.
Apart from the bus companies and minibuses, there are 1,658 buses and coaches used mainly for tourist sightseeing, carrying factory workers or conveying children to and from school. Certain private housing blocks operate private bus services exclusively for their residents.
Trams
Hongkong Tramways Limited operates a tram service on five routes over 30.5 kilometres of track along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. The service carries an average of 379,877 passengers daily with a fleet of 162 double-deck tram cars and 22 single-deck trailers.
A flat fare of 30 cents is charged and all cars are one-man operated, with passengers paying their fares into a fare box on exit.
In the middle of 1978, the government announced its intention to develop the existing tramway into a light rail vehicle system in stages and to introduce a fleet of modern, high capacity light rail cars to increase the speed and carrying capacity along this main east-west route. The proposal is subject to a feasibility study which began in mid-1978 and will be completed early in 1979.
On Hong Kong Island, the Peak Tramways Company Limited operates a funicular tram service between Garden Road and Victoria Peak - 397 metres above sea level - stopping at five intermediate stations. It is considered to be the second steepest funicular railway in the world using steel wire ropes as its sole means of haulage, with the steepest gradient being one in two.
The service, which began in 1888, is popular with tourists. The two service cars (a third is used as a maintenance spare) carry 5,399 passengers a day. The full distance fare is $1.50 with $1 charged for shorter journeys.