TRANSPORT
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served an average of 9 000 passengers a day in 1999, mostly for recreational traffic. One-way fares for adults and children were $18 and $5 respectively.
Other Road-based Passenger Transport
The other road-based passenger transport modes which comprise mainly franchised buses, public light buses, taxis and non-franchised buses account for two-thirds of all public transport journeys. Franchised buses are the largest carrier and account for 37 per cent of the total daily public transport volume.
Franchised Buses
The largest franchised bus operator is the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB). It runs 324 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories; 21 and 30 cross-harbour routes jointly with Citybus Limited (CTB) and New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB), respectively; and 10 cross-harbour routes on its
own.
The KMB fleet comprised 4 064 licensed vehicles as at the end of 1999, with 3 800 double-deck buses, and 264 single-deck buses, of which 2 090 and 264 were air- conditioned, respectively. Of all the licensed vehicles, 287 were wheelchair accessible buses.
KMB carried 1.1 billion passenger trips and covered 344 million kilometres in 1999. Its existing franchise commenced on September 1, 1997 and will expire on July 31, 2007. Fares ranged from $1.20 to $38. Children under 12 and elderly passengers were offered concessionary fares on all KMB routes.
Local bus services on Hong Kong island are provided by NWFB and CTB. At the end of 1999, NWFB operated 61 local routes and 32 cross-harbour routes, 30 of which were jointly operated with KMB. It had a licensed fleet of 730 buses of which 647 were air-conditioned and 464 were wheelchair accessible buses. Its fares ranged from $2.40 to $34.20.
Concessionary fares were offered on all routes to children under 12 and elderly passengers. The company's bus services carried 160 million passenger trips and covered 50.4 million kilometres in 1999.
CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. The first franchise comprises 65 bus routes on Hong Kong Island and 26 cross-harbour routes, 21 of which are jointly operated with KMB.
The second franchise comprises a network of 16 routes linking major districts in Hong Kong and Kowloon with Tung Chung and the new airport.
At the end of 1999, CTB had a licensed fleet of 959 buses, all of which were air- conditioned buses, and 292 were wheelchair accessible.
CTB's fares ranged from $2.50 to $45. Concessionary fares were offered to children under 12 and elderly passengers on Hong Kong Island routes (except overnight bus and recreational routes) and on cross-harbour and Tung Chung/Airport routes.
The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (NLB) provides bus services on Lantau Island. It runs 23 routes with a licensed fleet of 86 vehicles. Children under 12 and elderly passengers are offered concessionary fares on all routes.