ENG-2000 — Page 301

TRANSPORT

The former Mass Transit Railway Corporation was established by statute in 1975 to operate the MTR. The first passenger train on the Kwun Tong Line of the MTR started operation in 1979. The MTR was subsequently expanded to include the Tsuen Wan Line (1982), the Island Line (1985), the Eastern Harbour Crossing rail tunnel connecting Kwun Tong to Quarry Bay (1989) and the Tung Chung Line (1998). The MTR carried a daily average of 2.3 million passengers on weekdays in 2000. The company also operates the Airport Express, which is a dedicated rail link between the airport and the city centre. In March 1999, the Government announced a plan to privatise a substantial minority of its shareholding in the company. The enabling legislation was passed by the Legislative Council in February and the privatised entity, MTR Corporation Limited, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on October 5.

Tramway

Electric trams have been operating on Hong Kong Island since 1904. The Hongkong Tramways Limited operates six overlapping routes on 13 kilometres of double track along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, and about three kilometres of single track around Happy Valley.

The company's 164 trams, including two open-balcony trams for tourists and private hire and one special maintenance tram, make up the world's only fully double-decker tram fleet. The trams recorded an average of 235 221 passenger trips daily in 2000. Fares were $2 for adults and $1 for children under 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above.

Peak Tram

Hong Kong's other tramway is a cable-hauled funicular railway operated by the Peak Tramways Company Limited from Central (Garden Road) to the Peak. The 1.4-kilometre tramway, which began operation in 1888, was modernised in 1989. The tramway served an average of 9 503 passengers a day in 2000, mostly tourists and local sightseers. One-way fares for adults and children were $20 and $6 respectively.

Other Road-based Passenger Transport

The other road-based passenger transport modes comprising mainly franchised buses, public light buses, taxis and residents' service account for 66 per cent of all public transport journeys. Franchised buses are the largest road-based carriers and account for 38 per cent of the total daily public transport volume.

Franchised Buses

The largest franchised bus operator is the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB). It operates 322 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories; 20 and 29 cross-harbour routes jointly with Citybus Limited (CTB) and New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB), respectively; and 10 cross-harbour routes on its

own.

The KMB fleet comprised 4 238 licensed vehicles at the end of 2000, with 3 988 double-deck buses, and 250 single-deck buses, of which 2 392 and 250 were air- conditioned, respectively. Of all the licensed vehicles, 578 were wheelchair-accessible buses.

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