ENG-1983 — Page 214

TRANSPORT

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handicapped passengers are offered on some maxicab routes. Some operators are beginning to provide air-conditioned vehicles.

A fleet of 1 700 private light buses is also maintained by schools, private developments and commercial enterprises for their own needs.

Trams

The tram service in Hong Kong dates back to 1904, when Hongkong Tramways Limited began a service of five overlapping routes over 30 kilometres of track along the densely populated north shore of Hong Kong Island. During 1983, the fleet of 163 double-deck tramcars carried a daily average of 360 000 passengers. A fare increase in July raised adult fares from 50 cents to 60 cents and monthly tickets from $45 to $50. Fares for children (under 12 years) and Student Travel Card holders remained at 20 cents and 30 cents respectively.

The Peak Tramways Company Limited has been operating a cable-hauled funicular railway service up Victoria Peak between the lower levels of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Gap, 397 metres above sea level, since 1888. The service stops at five intermediate stations on the 1.4-kilometre line, and in places negotiates a gradient of one-in-two. It is popular with tourists, and at the same time provides a direct route to Central District for Peak residents. In 1983, the service carried 4 900 passengers a day, an increase of two per cent compared with 1982. In June, the lower terminus of the service was relocated to the ground floor of the new St John's Building.

Aerial Ropeways

An aerial ropeway operating at Ocean Park carries visitors between the park's lowland and headland sites. There are 246 cars on the system with a total carrying capacity of 1 476 persons. In 1983, it carried an average of 2 600 passengers a day.

Ferries

Ferry services in Hong Kong are mainly provided by two principal companies - the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited (HYF) and the Star Ferry Company Limited. The Star Ferry has a fleet of 10 vessels, plying across the harbour between Edinburgh Place on Hong Kong Island, and Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom in Kowloon. During the year, the company carried 38 million passengers on its two routes. Fares on the two Star Ferry services were increased on March 1, to 70 cents per journey for adults and 40 cents for children. HYF operates a varied fleet of vessels on 16 cross-harbour services (three of which carry vehicles), 10 outlying district services, two excursion services and two coastal ferry services along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. The company has a fleet of 84 vessels, some of which are air-conditioned, comprising double and triple-deck ferries, water buses and high-speed hovercraft. During the year the company carried 100 million passengers and three million vehicles.

Patronage of HYF's cross-harbour ferry services continued to be affected by the Mass Transit Railway. Decreases in passengers, from three per cent to 50 per cent compared with 1982, were recorded on these routes. Overall, passenger traffic on HYF's cross-harbour services dropped by 12 per cent compared with 1982. This process is expected to continue with the opening of the MTR Island Line in 1985. During the year, seven ferry services were cancelled and service adjustments were introduced on several others to reduce operating costs. Against this background, a five-month comprehensive study of HYF's local ferry operations was undertaken by the Transport Department with a view to formulating both short and long-term strategies for the development of waterborne transport in Hong Kong.