TRANSPORT
Minibuses
Hong Kong's minibuses are licensed to carry a maximum of 16 seated passengers. There were 6 750 minibuses in 1989. Of these, 4 350 were public light buses (PLB), and 2 400 private light buses. The PLBs are authorised to carry passengers at separate fares. The private light buses are only authorised to carry group passengers and the collection of fares is not permitted.
The operation of PLBs is regulated by a passenger service licence. Those in green livery provide services according to official schedules. In 1989, there were 1 295 of them operat- ing on 170 approved routes, each with fixed fares and time-tables. They carried 695 000 passengers a day. Red PLBs operate without a schedule. They do not have fixed routes, timetables and fares. In 1989, there were about 3 046 red PLBs which carried 1 065 000 passengers daily.
-
In line with government policy to convert more PLBs to operate on scheduled routes, 14 new scheduled routes have been identified in 1989. A new green minibus selection exercise would be conducted in 1990 for competitive bidding by minibus operators.
=
Taxis
The quota governing the maximum number of taxis that may be licensed in the urban area and the New Territories was increased following a review of the operation of the trade and demand for taxis in 1989. At the end of 1989, there were 14 600 urban taxis, 2 738 New Territories taxis, and 40 Lantau taxis, carrying an average of 1 045 700, 175 500 and 1 100 daily passengers respectively.
During the year, new licences were issued for 200 urban taxis and for 100 in the New Territories.
In 1989, fare increases ranging from 11 per cent to 20 per cent were approved on all three types of taxis. The operating boundary of New Territories taxis was relaxed so that they could serve Ma On Shan new town.
Non-franchised Bus Operators
Residents' services were introduced in 1982 to meet the transport needs of relatively isolated residential areas without adequate access to franchised bus services. Residents' organisations may request a non-franchised bus operator to apply for such a service, which is then vetted and authorised under the operator's passenger service licence. Residents' services must operate in accordance with approved schedules of service, which also specify the routeing, timetable, stopping place, and, in some cases, the fares. Most of these services operate during peak hours. A licence is normally valid for one year and may be renewed if there is a continuing need for the service.
At the end of the year, there were 25 residents' services carrying 28 000 passenger trips a day. Vehicles used on these services varied from small 24-seat coaches to double-deck. buses; during the year double-deck air-conditioned coaches were introduced on routes from a housing development in Sha Tin and an innovation was introduced by serving breakfast on board.
Apart from the scheduled residents' services, non-franchised buses and light buses operate to serve the needs of factory employees, tourists and schoolchildren on a contract hire basis. At the end of December 1989, the licensed fleet of non-franchised buses totalled 2 600 vehicles, of which 18 were double-deckers.
227