TRANSPORT
kilometres during the year. Fares ranged from $1.20 to $38 for its regular routes. Children aged under 12 and elderly passengers were offered concessionary fares on all the company's routes.
Local bus services on Hong Kong Island are provided by NWFB and CTB. At year- end, NWFB operated 59 bus routes on Hong Kong Island, eight routes serving Tseung Kwan O and 32 cross-harbour routes, 29 of which were operated jointly with KMB. It had a licensed fleet of 769 buses: 768 were air-conditioned and 605 wheelchair-accessible.
NWFB recorded 195.5 million passenger trips (a daily average of 535 480 passenger trips) and covered 60.9 million kilometres during the year. Its fares ranged from $3 to $34.20 on regular routes. Concessionary fares were offered on all routes to children. aged under 12 and elderly passengers.
CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. One franchise comprises 67 bus routes on Hong Kong Island and 29 cross-harbour routes, 22 of which are operated jointly with KMB. The other franchise comprises a network of 16 routes linking major districts in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories with Tung Chung and the airport.
At year-end, CTB had a licensed fleet of 956 buses, all of which were air- conditioned, and 97 wheelchair-accessible. The company recorded 220.4 million passenger trips (a daily average of 603 767 passenger trips) and covered 83.7 million kilometres during the year. Fares ranged from $2.50 to $45 for its regular routes. Concessionary fares were offered to children aged under 12, and elderly passengers on Hong Kong Island routes (except recreational routes) and on cross-harbour and Tung Chung/airport routes.
The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (NLB) mainly provides bus services. on Lantau Island. The company recorded 8.96 million passenger trips (a daily average of 24 548 passenger trips) and covered five million kilometres during the year. It runs 25 routes with a licensed fleet of 78 vehicles. Fares ranged from $3 to $40 for its regular routes. Children aged under 12 and elderly passengers are offered concessionary fares on all routes.
The Long Win Bus Company Limited (LW) provides bus services for Tung Chung and the airport. The company recorded 20.3 million passenger trips (a daily average of 55 648 passenger trips) and covered 23.1 million kilometres in 2002. At year-end, 145 buses were serving a total of 15 routes: all were air-conditioned and 136 wheelchair-accessible. The routes mainly linked the New Territories with Tung Chung and the airport. Fares ranged from $3.50 to $28 for its regular routes. The company also offers concessionary fares for children aged under 12 and elderly passengers on all routes.
Bus-Bus Interchange schemes are being introduced to encourage more efficient use of bus resources and limited road space and to allow more choice for passengers. Fare discounts are offered to passengers when interchanging among designated bus routes. At year-end, a total of 96 Bus-Bus Interchange schemes had been implemented, involving a total of 330 routes.
Non-franchised Buses
Non-franchised bus services perform a supplementary role in the public transport system. They mainly serve tourists, groups of residents, employees and students, and
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