Cautious welcome for Hong Kong tram's French owner
8 April 2009
Agence France Presse

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2008/0824/IMG_3178.jpg

Hong Kong's newspapers Wednesday cautiously welcomed French utility giant Veolia taking over the city's iconic tram network, but one lawmaker warned against turning it into a tourist draw.

Infrastructure conglomerate Wharf Holdings announced Tuesday it would sell half of its stake in the tramway to Veolia Environment, with the French company taking over the fleet's operations.

Most newspapers focused on protecting the heritage value of the tram, which is the only double-deck system still operating in the world and one of the most high-profile pieces of the city's colonial history.

The South China Morning Post described the Veolia takeover as heralding a "new line on an old friend," but warned about too many changes.

"(The announcement) inevitably provoked nostalgia -- and concern," the paper said.

The city's government was mindful of worries about a foreign owner.

"(The transport bureau) has stressed to Wharf and Veolia the importance of preserving the tradition of the tram service, including the overall outlook and design of the tram cars," a spokesman said in a statement.

"Veolia has assured us that it is fully committed to preserving the trams in Hong Kong recognising them as a unique piece of cultural heritage."

The Standard newspaper, through its lead columnist Mary Ma, welcomed the possibility of expanding the system to a newly reclaimed strip of land on the city's famous harbour.

Hong Kong's tram has been in operation for more than 100 years, but still remains well-used, carrying an average of 240,000 passengers a day.

Andrew Cheng, Hong Kong lawmaker and deputy chairman of the legislature's transport panel, said too much focus on tourism could jeopardise the tram's role as the cheapest and most convenient means of transportation.

"I do not object to the idea of turning it into a tourist attraction," he told AFP.

"But Veolia must make sure that the interest of overseas tourists will not overtake those of local passengers," he said, adding there should not be any substantial change to ticket prices, currently just two Hong Kong dollars (26 US cents).

Cheng said foreign companies did not always have a strong record of running Hong Kong's transport systems, citing Skyrail, the Australian company which operated cable cars taking people to a giant, mountain-top statue of Buddha.

MTR corporation, the local owner of the cable cars, sacked Skyrail after an unoccupied cabin plunged to the ground in 2007.

Tram drivers plan to press new bosses to install air conditioning
10 April 2009
South China Morning Post

Hongkong Tramways workers plan to seek a present from their new French bosses - air conditioning for double-decker cars.

Cooling for the cramped cars, in which temperatures can reach 37 degrees Celsius, has been tried before but failed. Three air-conditioned trams put into service were withdrawn after frequent breakdowns.

But Tramway Workers' Union chairman Lam Po-shing said the union would raise the issue again with Veolia, the French multinational that took over the trams' operations on Tuesday. "I think many of the passengers would also welcome the idea," Mr Lam said. "We hope [the new operator] will look for ways to improve our work environment."

Tram drivers have complained for years of their hot cabins during summer and it was not until last year that Wharf (Holdings) - from which Veolia bought a 50 per cent stake - agreed to fit fans for the drivers. Speaking after a union meeting yesterday, Mr Lam said members would ask to meet the new management team after Easter to voice their demands.

But transport enthusiast Dennis Law Chung-yan said their wishes may not be easily satisfied. "[Veolia] will not only have to resolve technical difficulties, which might involve replacing the entire power system, but they also have to consider fares - how much can they raise fares to cover the costs?" Mr Law, of the Universal Transport Fans Association, said.

The trams charge just HK$2 to ride all the way from Western to Shau Kei Wan, a trip for which air-conditioned buses charge HK$3.40.

"If the tramway seeks a fare rise, it can't be higher than HK$3.40 because otherwise they will lose passengers to the bus, which is much faster," Mr Law said. "So we are only talking about a margin of around HK$1 per trip."

The new managing director of Hongkong Tramways, Bruno Charrade, said on Tuesday Veolia would seek to improve the company's management as well as the safety, efficiency and quality of tram services.

Mr Charrade said there were no plans for fare increases, redundancies or adjustments to pay and pensions. Mr Lam said the union would ask Veolia to narrow the salary gap between new and old employees.

First stop on a much bigger journey
8 April 2009
South China Morning Post

France-based transport giant Veolia is taking the Hong Kong tram project as its stepping stone to the mainland.

"Hong Kong is [a] reference for China," said Bruno Charrade, the new managing director of Hongkong Tramways and head of Veolia Transport China's operations. "That's strategically why we chose to start in Hong Kong."

Mr Charrade said there was a trend worldwide to revert to using trams - a more environmentally friendly mode of transport - and the mainland would need trams in future, although it was fast developing metro systems.

Veolia Transport won its first contract in Nanjing in December, taking over operations of bus networks in six cities in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. The joint venture company runs about 2,900 vehicles and has a workforce of 6,700. It is expected to serve 375 million passengers a year.

The transport company is a division of Veolia Environment, which also has businesses in water, waste and energy management and is listed in Paris and New York.

The group has had a presence in Hong Kong for 15 years, with a company providing environmental services on waste treatment, landfill design and construction. It has about 660 employees.

Worldwide the transport division operates 17 tram systems in 10 countries including Germany, France, Ireland and Spain, and also operates other public transport systems of buses, light rails, subways, taxis, trains, coaches and ferries. Railway businesses, for example, are found in Melbourne, Los Angeles, Seoul, Boston and Mumbai.

In Stockholm, it lost the subway contract to Hong Kong's MTR Corporation in January after operating there for 10 years.

The company was also involved in a politically controversial tramway project in Jerusalem, which a number of human rights watchdogs including Amnesty International claimed incorporated in the route illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory.

Mr Charrade said his company was not responsible for designing the Jerusalem route but would only operate it to serve everyone.

This is hopefully good news. Fare and service improvements. No conflicts of interests so new operator can demand preferential treatment for the worlds only totally double-deck tram service that is still in operation. Hopefully the loop to the Star ferry will be built and the mandate will be changed to develop a similar service along Nathan road.