hkskyline
June 7th, 2005, 12:38 AM
Increased train passengers won't lead to lower fares
Teddy Ng, Hong Kong Standard
June 7, 2005
Hong Kong's demand for public transport in the SAR will increase because of an expected boom in tourism and the opening of Disneyland, the KCRC says.
But more customers won't necessarily mean lower fares, KCRC chairman Michael Tien made it clear Monday.
Responding to criticisms made by Kowloon Motor Bus managing director John Chan, Tien said railways also face difficulties meeting passenger level objectives.
Tien was remarking on an interview in The Standard with KMB chief Chan, who claimed increased rail use had compelled bus companies to keep unprofitable routes going while not raising fares because of public pressure.
Chan said the opening of several rail lines had reduced the market share for all franchised buses from 38.1 to 35.5 percent. KMB, he said, had cut its fleet from 4,400 to 4,000 to cut costs.
Chan also said rail lines could not create new demand, only redundancies.
Speaking for the railways, Tien said the construction of all rail lines by his group was decided in the transport strategy study of 2000.
"We are not building any new rail lines - that is not the concept,'' he said.
"We are implementing something that was decided a couple of years ago.''
The Ma On Shan line that opened last year, handled only 90,000 passengers a day, less than half the 190,000 expected.
Daily patronage on West Rail at the end of December stood at 173,000 passengers.
This compares with 100,000 when the line opened in December 2003, but the line still falls short its initial daily objective of 200,000 passengers.
But Tien hoped demand for public transport will grow because of the increase in tourists expected in Hong Kong.
"A lot of people are coming because of Disneyland [in September] and government initiatives to make the SAR more attractive,'' he said. ``This will result in demand for transport.'' But he said customer demand is not necessarily related to fares, and that
one reason transport fares had not dropped was because of excess capacity.
Tien said the transport sector should be pragmatic when dealing with the changing market. He urged stakeholders in the sector to tell government their views.
"I think everyone should have the opportunity to sit down and reflect their views to government,'' he said.
Teddy Ng, Hong Kong Standard
June 7, 2005
Hong Kong's demand for public transport in the SAR will increase because of an expected boom in tourism and the opening of Disneyland, the KCRC says.
But more customers won't necessarily mean lower fares, KCRC chairman Michael Tien made it clear Monday.
Responding to criticisms made by Kowloon Motor Bus managing director John Chan, Tien said railways also face difficulties meeting passenger level objectives.
Tien was remarking on an interview in The Standard with KMB chief Chan, who claimed increased rail use had compelled bus companies to keep unprofitable routes going while not raising fares because of public pressure.
Chan said the opening of several rail lines had reduced the market share for all franchised buses from 38.1 to 35.5 percent. KMB, he said, had cut its fleet from 4,400 to 4,000 to cut costs.
Chan also said rail lines could not create new demand, only redundancies.
Speaking for the railways, Tien said the construction of all rail lines by his group was decided in the transport strategy study of 2000.
"We are not building any new rail lines - that is not the concept,'' he said.
"We are implementing something that was decided a couple of years ago.''
The Ma On Shan line that opened last year, handled only 90,000 passengers a day, less than half the 190,000 expected.
Daily patronage on West Rail at the end of December stood at 173,000 passengers.
This compares with 100,000 when the line opened in December 2003, but the line still falls short its initial daily objective of 200,000 passengers.
But Tien hoped demand for public transport will grow because of the increase in tourists expected in Hong Kong.
"A lot of people are coming because of Disneyland [in September] and government initiatives to make the SAR more attractive,'' he said. ``This will result in demand for transport.'' But he said customer demand is not necessarily related to fares, and that
one reason transport fares had not dropped was because of excess capacity.
Tien said the transport sector should be pragmatic when dealing with the changing market. He urged stakeholders in the sector to tell government their views.
"I think everyone should have the opportunity to sit down and reflect their views to government,'' he said.