ENG-1952 — Page 178

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1952

machinery and fittings have now arrived in the Colony and are being assembled for service during 1953. The launching of the new Ferry "MAN FUNG" brings the number of ferries in service to 35 for 1952.

The number of vehicles carried on the vehicular ferry exceeded the one million mark in December, 1952. By the end of the year a total of over 1,014,000 vehicles had been carried.

Another record was established during the year when the number of passengers carried on all services exceeded 71 million.

The establishment of a new bus service between Shamshuipo Pier and Kowloon City has brought forward the importance of the Shamshuipo ferry terminal which is now being served by two urban bus services, both of which are already running with capacity loads. The new Kowloon City bus service commenced operation on 22nd December, 1952.

The vehicular ferry now operates from 6.20 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. daily, and during the major part of the day a regular 9-minute service is maintained. The new double-ended diesel ferry vessel "MAN WING" which is capable of carrying 800 passengers was launched on 15th April, 1952. This addition has enabled great improvements to be made in the Mongkok service, which now operates on a ten-minute schedule.

With the steady growth in the volume of passenger traffic the ferry service to Wanchai from Jordan Road has been increased from a 10-minute service to an 8- minute service by the operation of an extra ferry. The time needed for the crossing is now reduced to 12 minutes.

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