ENG-1955 — Page 199

Bus Services

PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS

153

Bus services on the Island are maintained by the China Motor Bus Company Ltd., operating a fleet of 193 vehicles. The replacement of petrol-engined chassis by heavy-duty diesels enabled the Company to augment the number of buses in daily service during the year, and mileage (7.8 millions) increased by 5%. The number of passengers carried, includ- ing a conservative estimate of journeys made by monthly ticket holders, was approx. 64.5 millions. It is anticipated that mileage and passenger figures will again be exceeded in 1956, when the Company will start taking delivery of some thirty new buses and two sight-seeing coaches.

The year saw the extension of the Tonnochy Road- Shaukiwan service as far as the Chai Wan Resettlement Area, and the introduction of a new route to the mid-level district of Robinson Road. This latter service, like several others, runs over steep and narrow winding roads, necessitating the operation of small vehicles with powerful engines, and the Company still experiences difficulty in obtaining additional buses for this type of work from the United Kingdom, current delivery being in the region of eighteen months.

The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd. continued to make further progress in its activities to improve and maintain an efficient bus service in Kowloon and the mainland part of the New Territories. During the year under review, the Company revised its services by abolishing four existing bus routes and introducing in their place six new services. The fares of the altered services were adjusted, and there was an additional adjustment of fares in the New Territories, where a new system of short-distance fare stages was introduced which is a considerable improvement for country people.

At the close of 1955, the Company's fleet of buses consisted of 165 double-deck buses and 205 single-deck buses. Orders were placed for 50 new double-deck buses and 30 single-deck buses, of which 16 single-deck buses have been delivered and the rest are expected to arrive early in 1956. When all these vehicles have been delivered, the Company will possess a fleet of 450 buses.

Some 200,000,000 passengers were carried, and the mileage covered by the Company's buses was 191m. miles as against 1723m. passengers and 172m. miles in 1954.