ENG-1984 — Page 253

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TRANSPORT

for Peak residents. In 1984, the service carried 5 600 passengers a day, an increase of 16 per cent compared with 1983.

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 1984, the system carried an average of 4 000 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 41 million passengers on its two routes. HYF operates a varied fleet of vessels on 17 cross-harbour services (four of which carry vehicles), 10 outlying district services, two excursion services and one coastal service along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. The company has a fleet of 86 vessels, some of which are air-conditioned, comprising double and triple-deck ferries, water buses and high-speed hovercraft. Fares on 28 HYF services were increased on January 1. During the year, the company carried 91 million passengers and 4.5 million vehicles.

HYF services operating within the MTR catchment area continued to lose patronage. Decreases in passengers, from five per cent to 22 per cent compared with 1983, were recorded on these routes. This trend is expected to continue with the opening of the MTR Island Line in 1985. On the other hand, HYF's cross-harbour vehicular ferry services enjoyed a rise in traffic following the imposition on June 1 of the passage tax on use of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. The number of vehicles using the four HYF vehicular ferry services during June to December was 60 per cent higher than that recorded for the corresponding period in 1983. On April 1, a new vehicular ferry service was introduced between Sai Wan Ho and Kwun Tong.

In addition to the services operated by the two major ferry companies, 11 minor ferry services are run to isolated communities by seven operators. Supplementary services known as 'kaitos' are also available, mostly in the New Territories, to cater for local rural demand. Both types of services are controlled by licences issued by the Transport Department under the Ferry Services Ordinance. In Victoria Harbour, fleets of motor boats known as 'walla-wallas' are available for hire at public' piers, although demand for this service is decreasing due to the introduction of more all-night cross-harbour bus services.

Taxis

Hong Kong is served by three types of taxi: Hong Kong and Kowloon taxis which may operate anywhere in the territory (but primarily serve the urban areas); New Territories taxis which operate only in permitted areas in the New Territories; and Lantau taxis which operate only on Lantau Island. In 1984, the NT taxi operation boundary was twice extended, allowing New Territories taxis to take passengers to newly developed interchange points on the periphery of urban areas.

At year-end, 13 534 Hong Kong and Kowloon taxis were registered. New licences continued to be tendered at the rate of 200 per year up to a limit of 14 000. The number of New Territories taxis was fixed at 2 638 in July. The limit for Lantau taxis was 40; at the end of the year 30 Lantau taxis were registered.