ENG-2004 — Page 326

276 Transport

The Long Win Bus Company Limited provides bus services between the New Territories and Tung Chung/the airport. The company recorded 22.3 million passenger trips (a daily average of 60 942 passenger trips) and covered 23.5 million kilometres during the year. At year-end, 144 buses were serving a total of 15 routes; all were air- conditioned and 136 wheelchair-accessible. Fares ranged from $3.50 to $28 for the regular routes. The company offers concessionary fares for children aged under 12 and elderly passengers on all routes.

The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited mainly provides bus services on Lantau Island. The company recorded 12.1 million passenger trips (a daily average of 32 945 passenger trips) and covered 5.4 million kilometres during the year. It runs 24 routes with a licensed fleet of 86 vehicles. Its fares ranged from $2.50 to $40 for the regular routes. Children aged under 12 and elderly passengers are offered concessionary fares on all routes.

Bus-Bus Interchange schemes are being introduced to encourage more efficient. use of bus resources and limited road space and to allow more choice for passengers. Fare discounts are offered to passengers when interchanging among designated bus routes. By year-end, a total of 150 Bus-Bus Interchange schemes had been implemented, involving a total of 385 routes.

Non-franchised Buses

Non-franchised bus services perform a supplementary role in the public transport system. They mainly serve tourists, groups of residents, employees and students, and help to reduce peak hour demand for other public transport services. At year-end, there were 7 212 registered non-franchised buses of which 6 888 were in operation.

The Transport Advisory Committee completed a review of the licensing and regulatory framework for non-franchised bus operation in July and recommended to the Government a series of measures to strengthen its regulation. The Government has examined the proposed measures in consultation with the transport trades. Subject to further consultation with the Legislative Council, the Government plans to implement the measures to better regulate the licensing and operation of non- franchised bus services.

Minibuses

Hong Kong's minibuses are licensed to carry a maximum of 16 passengers. At year-end, there were 6 214 licensed minibuses. Of these, 4 328 were public light buses (PLBs), and 1 886 were private light buses. Private light buses are authorised to carry only group passengers and are not allowed to collect separate fares.

There are two types of PLBs green and red minibuses. Green minibuses (GMBs) provide scheduled services with fixed routeing, fares, vehicle allocation and timetables stipulated by the Transport Department. There were 2 660 GMBs operating 352 routes which recorded a daily average of 1 236 500 passengers trips. Red minibuses (RMBs) are not required to operate on fixed routes or timetables and may set their own fares, but they are subject to certain restrictions on their operating