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With an established ferry service the transport of motor lorries will increase and there will be a movement of cargo from points in Kowloon to Hong Kong and vice versa from door to door by lorry. Moreover private cars will be transferred in much larger numbers with improved facilities. My Committee cannot express an opinion as to the rapidity of this development and consequently the revenue to be expected. But if the growth of motor cars in the Colony is any guide then the development should be fairly rapid. Lorry transport will depend, of course, on the comparative costs of deli- vering cargo by that means. The frequency of the ferry service would have to be increased to meet the growing requirements.

(c) The estimated number of passengers is too high, though this depends on the points between which the service will run. The Star Ferry state that their average carrying is only 52 First Class and 36 Third Class per trip Their 3rd class fare is 4 cents against Government's proposed 5 cents".

Additional data as to the location of the proposed sites for the ferry piers was sup- plied to the Chamber of Commerce on 17th May. A letter dated 14th July from the Chamber states:-

"The Victoria Recreation Club does not appeal to the Chamber as a suitable site and it considers Arsenal Street would be preferable for the terminus on the Hong Kong side" and sets out arguments in favour of the Arsenal Street site and against a terminus at the Victoria Recreation Club.

The Chamber considers Jordan Road as a most suitable site for a vehicular ferry ter- minus and suggests that the Yaumati passenger service should come to Jordan Road instead of inside the typhoon refuge, also that the vehicular service might be run in connection with the Yaumati service with combined termini at Jordan Road and as formerly proposed at Jubilee Street. Later when development warranted it, the Chamber considers that vehicular ferries might be run from Jordan Road to a point east of Arsenal Yard, and sug- gests that it would welcome a conference with the heads of appropriate Departments, should Government consider the above-mentioned or other points might be usefully dis- cussed.

A conference was duly arranged, and on 19th August the Chamber reported :-

"In the course of the proceedings, the relative merits of sites at the Victoria Recreation Club and at Arsenal Street were discussed. The Harbour Master pointed out that, besides the objection of distance, a route across the har- bour from Arsenal Street to Jordan Road would cross the Naval Anchorage, go through a very crowded part of the harbour and interfere with the operation of the Star Ferry at Kowloon Point. After some discussion, it was agreed that Arsenal Street would not be a suitable site.

It was further pointed out that the objections to a site at Arsenal Street applied with almost equal force to a site at the Victoria Recreation Club. In addition, it was considered undesirable to concentrate in the centre of the City all the cross-harbour lorry traffic.

It was agreed in further discussion that it would be desirable to keep in view the possibility of an eventual need for two vehicular ferry systems across the Harbour, having regard to the wide distance separating the Western district from the areas of development eastward. The sites of the first ferry piers to be built should be so selected as not to prejudice satis- factory arrangements for two systems. A point beyond Causeway Bay can be connected with Hung Hom by a route measuring only 1.34 miles. A ferry between Jordan Road and the Western district of Hong Kong should obviously come first, and particularly as it is thought that eventually a second ferry may be required, the Chamber is of opinion that the Hong Kong terminus should be west of Blake Pier, giving a route to Jordan Road of 1.57 miles, as compared with 1.67 miles from the Victoria Recreation Club, and 2.04 miles from Arsenal Street. Such a route would least inter- fere with other traffic and be free from the objections mentioned in regard to the other sites under consideration.