1990 — Page 10

CHAIRMAN'S

STATEMENT

主席報告

LOSS-MAKING ROUTES

The network of routes which the Government

has permitted KMB to operate has been

developed over the many years since 1933,

and now numbers some 280 routes in total. The fare on each route is charged according to the route's length, and takes no account of major factors which determine profitability, e.g. operating speed, off-peak ridership, turnover along the route etc. As a result, the individual

routes display a wide range of profitability.

As long as the proportion of profitable to non-profitable routes does not deteriorate and the degree of overall profitability does not decrease, the situation is internally stable and

the required level of fare increases will be

identical to the cost inflation rate. The Company has in the past accepted this mix of profitable

and unprofitable routes on the understanding that the Company is able to maintain its financial viability.

However, this does not mean that the Company has agreed to carry on running all loss-making routes. In every 5-Year Plan

prepared by KMB in recent years, proposals have been included to improve the situation. In

some cases radical service improvements

which KMB believes would improve the

financial viability of the route have been

proposed. In other cases, curtailment or

cancellation has been proposed to minimize or

eliminate the losses.

In 1990, changes were proposed for some

50 heavy loss-making routes. Of these

proposals only one has been agreed and

implemented, 16 have been rejected by Transport Department and decision on some 33 routes are pending. Many of these proposals were first put forward in 1988. As cancellation or curtailment of routes is unpopular, it would appear that there is little or no prospect of any improvement in the situation.

虧損之路線

政府批准九巴經營之路線網絡自

一九三三年開始,多年來至今已發展至

約二百八十條路線。每條路線之收費及

根據車程之長短而定,並無計算影響

盈利率之主要因素,例如行車速度、

非繁忙時間乘客量、沿途之營業額等。

因此,個別路線之盈利率有頗大差別。

只要有利潤及無利潤之路線比例沒有

惡化,而整體盈利率亦無下降,公司內部

情況穩定,則所需之車費增加水平將與

成本通脹率相若。本公司過去一直接受

此種有利潤及無利潤路線共存之情況,

是基於假設本公司可以繼續維持其經營

能力。

然而,這並不表示本公司同意繼續經營

所有虧損之路線。九巴近年所訂之每項

五年發展計劃中均有提出改善此種情況之

建議。在某些情況下,九巴相信積極改善 服務可提高有關路線之盈利狀況。在其他

情況下,九巴則擬縮減或取銷某些路線

以減低或避免虧損。

在一九九零年,九巴建議對五十條嚴重

虧損之路線作出修改。惟僅其中一項建議

獲同意及實施,十六項已遭運輸署否決,

而另外三十三條路線之更改仍有待決定。

此等建議大多數於一九八八年首次提出。

由於取銷或縮減路線不受歡迎,相信

現時之情況看來不會有任何改善。

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