ENG-2006 — Page 306

254 Transport

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 made 26.5 million passenger trips (a daily average of 72 600 passenger trips) covering 24.5 million kilometres during the year. At year-end, 153 buses were serving a total of 18 routes; all were air- conditioned and 144 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 14.1 million passenger trips (a daily average of 38 500 passenger trips) which covered 5.1 million kilometres during the year. It ran 22 routes with a licensed fleet of 83 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 216 Bus-Bus Interchange schemes were in operation, involving about 470 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 7 086 registered non-franchised buses of which 6 901 were in operation.

Based on the recommendations of the Transport Advisory Committee's review of the licensing and regulatory framework for non-franchised bus operation completed in July 2004, the Government continued to implement measures to improve the regulation of non-franchised bus operation in 2006. The measures aim

aim at coordinating the change in non-franchised bus services with demand; strengthening regulatory control over non-franchised bus operation; and enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement actions.

Minibuses

Hong Kong's minibuses are licensed to carry a maximum of 16 passengers. At year-end, there were 6 220 licensed minibuses. Of these, 4 349 were public light. buses (PLBs), and 1 871 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 provide scheduled services with fixed routing, fares, vehicle allocation and timetables