ENG-2009 — Page 311

Transport | 243

CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. One of the franchises covers 62 bus routes on Hong Kong Island, one bus route in the New Territories and 29 cross-harbour routes, 21 of which are operated jointly with KMB. Another franchise covers a network of 18 routes plying between the urban areas and North Lantau or the airport.

At year-end, CTB had a licensed fleet of 931 air-conditioned buses, of which 287 were wheelchair-accessible. The company recorded 208 million passenger trips (a daily average of 570 000 passenger trips) covering 82.01 million kilometres of road.

The Long Win Bus Company Limited provides services between the New Territories and Lantau Island and the airport. The company made 28.2 million passenger trips (a daily average of 77 200 passenger trips) covering 28.1 million kilometres of roads in 2009. At year-end, 167 air-conditioned buses were serving a total of 19 routes of which 165 were wheelchair-accessible.

The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited mainly provides bus services on Lantau Island. The company recorded 18 million passenger trips (a daily average of 49 400 passenger trips) which covered 6.3 million kilometres of road. It ran 23 routes with a licensed fleet of 104 vehicles.

Different forms of fare concessions were provided by the franchised bus companies during the year. For example, all franchised bus companies offered concessionary fares for children aged under 12 and elderly passengers on all routes (except recreational routes operated by CTB).

Bus-Bus Interchange schemes are implemented to encourage more efficient use of resources and limited road space, and to provide more choice for passengers. Fare discounts are offered to passengers when interchanging between designated bus routes. At year-end, a total of 237 bus-to-bus interchange schemes were in operation, involving about 400 routes.

Non-franchised Buses

Non-franchised bus services play a supplementary role in the public transport system. They relieve heavy demand on regular public transport services primarily during 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 7 066 registered non-franchised buses of which 6 968 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 2009. The measures aim at co-ordinating the change in non-franchised bus services with demand; strengthening control over non-franchised bus operation; and enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement actions.