ENG-1958 — Page 270

PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS

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Tsim Sha Tsui at the southern extremity of the Kowloon peninsula. Eight vessels are in service and operate daily for 19 hours. A three-minute service, taking seven minutes to cross, is maintained during the busy periods of the day, and a regular service until 1.30 a.m. Over 36,300,000 passengers were carried in 153,000 crossings during the year, the average daily load being 99,500 persons.

The Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd. began operations on 1st January 1924 with eleven small wooden steam-vessels servicing three cross-harbour routes. Today the Company operates a fleet of forty eight diesel-engined vessels which maintain six cross-harbour ferry services as well as ferry services to outlying districts in the New Territories.

The routes inside the Harbour are between Wilmer Street, Jubilee Street, Stewart Road and Tonnochy Road on the Island, and Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok, Jordan Road and Kowloon City on Kowloon peninsula. The Company also operates the sole vehicular-ferry service between Jubilee Street and Jordan Road.

During 1958 a record number of 93,740,000 passengers and 1,426,000 vehicles were carried, being an increase of 8,210,000 passengers and 39,000 vehicles over the previous year's figures. The Kowloon City/Wan Chai ferry service, which commenced operations on 3rd July 1956, carried 5,670,000 passengers in 1958, an increase of 1,060,000 passengers over the 1957 traffic.

Of the ferry services to outlying districts, that to Cheung Chau was well patronized throughout the year. The summer months saw large numbers of holidaymakers attracted to Silvermine Bay and Peng Chau. During cooler weather, the Hong Kong/Tai O Service via Kap Sui Mun, Castle Peak and Tung Chung carried many pilgrims and hikers for the monasteries of Lantau Island. The Tolo Harbour service which provides a welcome link with the outside world for isolated villages along the shores of Tolo Harbour, carried 68,000 passengers during 1958.

On the 24th July 1958 the Hong Kong/Tsing Yi/Tsuen Wan ferry service resumed operations after an interruption of more than sixteen years. Over 340,000 passengers were carried in the last five months of 1958.

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