TRANSPORT
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In 1985, great improvements were made to public transport services, both in capacity and quality, to meet the growing demand which in part reflected the spread of population in the new towns and the policy of discouraging the use of private cars. Key developments were the completion of the Mass Transit Railway Island Line between Chai Wan and Admiralty and of a new station on the Kowloon-Canton Railway at Fo Tan.
Despite these developments, buses will continue to cater for the bulk of passenger journeys in the territory. The productivity continues to be enhanced by reduced traffic congestion through the development of rail transport, construction of new expressways and an increase in the number of modern high capacity buses. The quality of the bus services has also been improved through more effective forward planning by the operators. Their efficiency is reflected in comparatively low fares, with operators maintaining reasonable profit margins.
With the expansion of the railways and improvements to the bus services there is now keener competition among various transport modes, particularly along the railway corridors. The opening of the MTR Island Line has reduced cross-harbour ferry patronage as well as bus and public light bus passenger numbers along the north shore of Hong Kong Island.
Further progress has been made on ticket integration. The Common Stored Value Ticket system introduced in late 1984 between the MTR and KCR continues to be popular with travellers and the validity period of these tickets has been extended from three to six months. A similar ticketing system for use between the railways and the Kowloon Motor Bus Company buses is under examination.
Apart from these improvements in public transport services provided by the principal operators, local, low volume demands are met by green minibus and coach operators who are generally responsive to local needs. These modes are continuing to expand as opportunities arise.
Kowloon-Canton Railway
The electrification and modernisation of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) between Kowloon Station and Lowu was completed in July 1983. In September, 266 000 passengers were carried on an average weekday, an increase of 25 per cent compared with September 1984. The increase in domestic traffic was mainly due to the continuing development of the new towns of Sha Tin, Tai Po and Fanling along the KCR corridor. The number of passengers travelling to Lowu, and hence to China, also increased by 21 per cent in September compared with the same month in 1984. There were three daily through trains to Canton; an additional through train was also operated to Shenzhen on weekdays and three on Sundays. During festival periods, a fourth through train to Canton was operated.
The growth in demand for the train services has been met by progressive increases in train frequency. Trains are now operating from 5.52 a.m. to 0.12 a.m. During the peak periods, they run at three-minute intervals between Kowloon and Tai Po Market, three-minute intervals to Sheung Shui and 15-minute intervals to Lowu. Extensive complementary changes to the bus network in the KCR corridor have been made; and in 1985, a network of 20 feeder bus services was operating to the KCR stations from the rural hinterland and new housing estates. More green minibus services were also introduced as feeders to the railway, and 13 routes were operating in the KCR corridor at year-end.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway also carried a considerable volume of freight to and from China. In 1985, 2.42 million tonnes of freight (1984: 2.57 million) and 2.06 million head