ENG-2010 — Page 305

Transport | 251

There are over 80 stations along the 175-kilometre network. The MTRCL also operates a 35.3-kilometre Airport Express Line. The entire system carries an average of 3.87 million passengers per day.

Apart from the heavy rail systems, the MTRCL operates a 36.2-kilometre Light Rail network which has 68 stops in the Northwestern part of the New Territories. The Light Rail carries about 423 300 passengers daily. Light Rail feeder bus services are also operated to provide rail passengers with a more comprehensive service network. In addition, the MTRCL provides inter-city through-train services from Hong Kong to cities in Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing.

Tramway

Electric trams have been running on Hong Kong Island since 1904. Hongkong Tramways Limited runs seven routes on 13 kilometres of double tracks 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 largest fleet of double-deck trams in operation. The tramway records a daily average of 226 800 passenger trips.

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 line began operation in 1888 and was modernised in 1989. The Peak Tram records an average of 14 700 passenger trips a day, made up mostly of tourists and local sightseers.

Other Road-based Passenger Transport

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The other road-based passenger transport modes. mainly franchised buses, public light buses, taxis and residents' non-franchised buses account for 60 per cent of all public transport passenger journeys.

Franchised Buses

Franchised buses are the largest road-based carriers and account for about 32 per cent of the total daily public transport volume. Bus services in Kowloon and the New Territories are largely provided by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB). At year-end, the company operated 315 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories and 60 cross-harbour routes on its own. It also operated 29 and 21 cross-harbour routes jointly with New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) and Citybus Limited (CTB) respectively.

At year-end, the company had a licensed fleet of 3 819 buses, of which 3 688 were air-conditioned and 2073 were wheelchair-accessible. KMB recorded 947 million passenger trips (a daily average of 2.59 million passenger trips) covering 309.73 million kilometres of roads during the year.