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Unpaid traffic, which includes meteorological, police, anti-piracy, Rugby press, aircraft and air station operational messages etc., totalled 87,815 messages of 3,077,842 words as against 86,694 messages of 3,354,570 words in 1937.
Service messages totalled 4,684 consisting of 49,433 words as compared with 47,078 messages of 373,497 words in 1938; the decrease being due to the transfer of the commercial fixed point services.
No Internal.
RAILWAY.
After the 12th of October, 1938, rail communication by the Kowloon-Canton Railway was limited to the section of the line within British territory.
Co-ordination between road and rail interests was obtained when a motor rail-bus commenced a shuttle service between Fanling and Taipo Market on the 1st of May, displacing the road buses which had performed a similar function since the 1st of November, 1932. At the same time both transportation systems were made supplementary by the linking up at Fanling Railway Station of the Un Long-Sheung Shui and the Shataukok-Fanling bus services. The rail-bus was constructed at the Hung Hom locomotive workshops on novel lines, two Bedford 3-ton lorry chassis being welded back to back and fitted with cast steel wheel discs to supplement the pneumatic tyres. The financial results were most gratifying, and it is probable that the profits from two years of operation will exceed the capital outlay.
ROADS.
There are 371 miles of roads in the Colony, 173 miles on the Island of Hong Kong, 106 miles in Kowloon and 92 miles in the New Territories. Of the total mileage, 227 miles are constructed of water-bound macadam dressed with asphalt, 11 miles of sheet asphalt on a cement concrete foundation, 29 miles of tar macadam, 55 miles of concrete, 3 miles of granite setts and wooden blocks on a cement concrete foundation and 45 miles of earth.
The public travelling over the Colony's roads increases yearly, with a corresponding growth in the number of motor buses, of which there are 98 operating on the Island of Hong Kong, and 133 on the mainland. These are gradually replacing rickshaws, the number of which decreases year by year.
The Hong Kong Tramway Company has a fleet of 103 double-deck tram-cars running along the sea-front of Victoria from Kennedy Town to Shaukiwan. The length of the Hong Kong Tramway tracks is about 10 miles.
There were 4,009 private motor-cars, 291 motor-cycles, 350 public cars and taxis and 945 commercial lorries and vans registered in 1938.
FERRIES.
Communication between the Island of Hong Kong and the mainland is maintained by a number of ferry services, of which the most important are:—
(1) The Star Ferry, between Kowloon Point and a pier near the General Post Office, Hong Kong. This ferry provides a 5-minute passenger service during the busy periods of the day and a 10-minute service at other times. The passage of just under one mile is negotiated in about 8 minutes.
(2) The Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company, which operates passenger ferry services between Hong Kong and Jordan Road, Shan Tung Street, Pei Ho Street, Gillies Avenue, and Kai Tack Road, all in Kowloon; also to Sai Wan Ho, near the eastern end of Hong Kong harbour. This Company also operates a 12-minute vehicles ferry service between Hong Kong (Jubilee Street) and Kowloon (Jordan Road).