ENG-2005 — Page 309

Transport 263

with KMB. It had a licensed fleet of 694 buses, of which 693 were air-conditioned and 530 wheelchair-accessible.

NWFB recorded 177.5 million passenger trips (a daily average of 486 200 passenger trips) and covered 52.1 million kilometres during the year. Its fares ranged from $3 to $34.2 for the regular routes. Concessionary fares are offered on all routes to children aged under 12 and elderly passengers.

CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. One of the franchises comprises 65 bus routes on Hong Kong Island and 31 cross-harbour routes, 23 of which are operated jointly with KMB. Another franchise comprises a network of 16 routes plying between the urban areas and North Lantau or the airport.

At year-end, CTB had a licensed fleet of 910 buses, all of which were air-conditioned, and 119 wheelchair-accessible. The company recorded 205.8 million passenger trips (a daily average of 561 900 passenger trips) and covered 82.3 million kilometres during the year. Its fares ranged from $2.50 to $45 for the regular routes. Concessionary fares were offered to children aged under 12, and elderly passengers on Hong Kong Island routes (except recreational routes) and on cross-harbour and Lantau Island/airport routes.

The Long Win Bus Company Limited provides bus services between the New Territories and Lantau Island/the airport. The company carried 24.3 million passenger trips (a daily average of 66 600 passenger trips) and operated 23.8 million kilometres during the year. At year-end, 146 buses were serving a total of 18 routes; all were air-conditioned and 139 wheelchair-accessible. Fares ranged from $3.50 to $28 for the regular routes. The company offered 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 13.4 million passenger trips (a daily average of 36 600 passenger trips) and covered 5.3 million kilometres during the year. It ran 23 routes with a licensed fleet of 86 vehicles. Its fares ranged from $3 to $40 for the regular routes. Children aged under 12 and elderly passengers were offered concessionary fares on all routes.

Bus-Bus Interchange schemes are being implemented 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. At year-end, a total of 150 Bus-Bus Interchange schemes were in operation, involving about 400 routes.

Non-franchised Buses

Non-franchised bus services perform a supplementary role in the public transport system. They relieve heavy demand on regular public transport services primarily during the peak hours, fill the gaps which cannot be met by regular public transport services and provide tailor-made services to specific groups of passengers. They mainly serve tourists, groups of residents, employees and students. At year-end, there were 7 212 registered non-franchised buses of which 6 888 were in operation.