觀光大巴士明啟程 收費320
英國公司逆市投資千萬 10車行走港九兩路線

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2008年12月14日





【明報專訊】金融海嘯下並非只有撤資、裁員，有外資逆市來港大展拳腳。著名的倫敦大巴士(Big Bus)旅巴公司，明日起在本港啟業，令本港首次有「定線定時」觀光巴士服務，巡迴港九市區景點。大巴士商業總監Keith Spicer表示，希望這架棗紅旅巴能成為本港一部分，幫助宣傳香港。他透露，有別於其他交通欠發達的國家，本港運輸當局一聽有巴士公司申請來港即時「say no」，結果他們需以長達兩年時間克服種種困難，才得以營業。

Spicer承認現時並非最佳的投資時機，但相信本港旅遊業的發展潛力(見另稿)，故仍投資1200萬元購入10部開篷巴士開展業務，「中國經濟好，而內地客又佔香港旅客一半，期望一年後有回報」。

每30分鐘一班車

由明日起，大巴士將會在港九經營兩條旅遊路線及夜遊服務，分別途經山頂、會展、蘭桂坊、天星碼頭、尖東、旺角等地，每30分鐘就有一班車，將來更可能增至20分鐘一班。乘客購票後，就可隨時下車遊覽，之後上車再去下一站，車內亦設有8國語言廣播介紹景點(見圖)。

Spicer指出，大巴士的營運模式在外國甚為常見，但在香港屬新事物，當初運輸署就不願批出牌照，「大巴士在全球有4個營運點，比如在缺乏公共交通的迪拜，對方極歡迎巴士公司；但香港一聽到巴士就即時說『不』。」

香港大巴士總經理溫洛文強調，大巴士並非公共交通，本身已是旅遊特色，兩年來他們邀請了英國領事館、旅發局「幫口」，最終說服當局批准經營，「但本地非專利巴士牌照不能增多，所以我們要向業界購買現有牌照及將巴士改裝經營」。在倫敦，大巴士會在車站售票，但溫洛文指出，本港規範不切合此新興行業，在街上售票會被當作小販，暫須聯絡酒店和海外旅社幫忙售票。

英領事助游說終獲批經營

他表示，自己兩年來至少駕車行走港九各地50多遍，更親自用腳走一遍，以定下路線，亦要教導司機操作景點介紹系統，「廣播內容甚至會教遊客本地文化，如紅色代表吉利等；亦會以遊客角度看香港，如把西洋菜街介紹為電子用品街」。事實上，一張大巴士成人票價就達320元(見表)，值不值得恐要留待遊客定奪。

旅發局發言人表示，將聯絡海外旅行社來港試搭大巴士，並把其列入本港宣傳項目之一。現時城巴在天星碼頭和山頂少數景點間，亦有經營開篷巴士路線，該公司發言人則表示，暫時難以評估大巴士開業後的影響。

^^ Without any ticket booth and ticket person, I think he's gonna have a very hard time to promote the service and capture as much tourists as it can be. And only four stops per route?? It's really not that "hop on, hop off." The stops are pretty far apart, unlike in other many other cities with similar service.

An MTR all day pass is only $55; you can probably complete the same two loops in double decker for less than $100 even if you hop on and hop off at any of the eight stops. $320 per ticket for a day ride (including the Star Ferry (Central<>TST) and the Peak Tram) is pretty expensive. I guess you are paying for the digital tour guide it is providing.

We will see how this company go, I am not putting a lot of faith on it.
But anyways, good to see the open-top buses are coming back to town for a while.

Official website: http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/hongkong/
Official press releas:
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Big Bus News
NOVEMBER 2008

Big Bus to launch in Hong Kong

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Big Bus is proud to introduce its brand new tour destination of Hong Kong with a launch planned for December 2008.

Big Bus aims to give you the most enjoyable experience of Hong Kong; the number one tourist destination in the Far East. From the world famous Star Ferry to the Peak Tram, from modern skyscrapers to old temples, what better way to see all that Hong Kong has to offer than from an open-top, double-decker Big Bus? And you can take the tour in your language! Digitally recorded and offering a choice of Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Japanese, Korean, German, French and Malay, this state of the art tour will allow you to enjoy the delights of Hong Kong in your language. Business Development Director, St.John Cooper said “We are delighted to launch our unique style of sightseeing tour in Hong Kong and to be able to offer the tour in 8 different languages. It will provide the opportunity for visitors to discover Hong Kong and its history whilst enjoying the fantastic views from the top of our Double Decker buses”

When you buy a Big Bus ticket, not only do you get the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula Tour with recorded commentary in 8 languages, our guests also receive a free, return, upper-deck Star Ferry crossing and a free Peak Tramway ticket.

To complement our acclaimed day tour, Big Bus will also run a night tour every evening with two departures giving visitors an opportunity to see this amazing city at night. A single night tour ticket or combination day and night ticket can be purchased offering complete user flexibility. So whether you are staying in Kowloon and want to visit Hong Kong Island, or staying on Hong Kong Island and want to visit Kowloon, Big Bus offers you the perfect solution in your language!

• Ticket valid for 24 hours
• 2 tour routes
• Hop on, hop off bus tour
• Digitally recorded commentary in eight languages
• Free return Peak Tram ticket
• Free return upper deck Star Ferry ticket
• Magnificent views from the upper deck
• Buses run 7 days a week

Gosh .. imposing a Western price on a much lower cost city. Wonder how many tourists will bite this expensive trap.

Gosh .. imposing a Western price on a much lower cost city. Wonder how many tourists will bite this expensive trap.

Only those tourists come from the West. :lol: