Implementation and beneficiary figures of bus fare reduction clarified

     In response to media enquiries on an article in a newspaper today (June 1) concerning the implementation and the number of beneficiaries of the bus fare reduction initiatives, the Transport Department (TD) has pointed out the inaccuracies in it and made clarifications.

     The article took March 2006 as the first month of full implementation of all the concessions and points out that fewer than 5 % of passenger journeys enjoy a discount.  It has also cited the figure of 5.4 million passenger journeys as attracting a fare discount in March 2006.  
 
     TD has clarified the fact that March 2006 is not the month when all the fare reduction initiatives will become effective.  The concessions that have become effective since March only include (i) the 5% and 10% same day return fare concession on solely operated routes, (ii) special elderly concession on Sundays and public holidays, and (iii) 47 new Bus-Bus-Interchange (BBI) schemes.  The initiatives that have yet to take effective include (i) the 5% and 10% same day return fare reduction on the jointly operated routes, which will be implemented in July 2006 upon completion of modification to the Octopus fare collection system, and (ii) the remaining of the 47 new BBIs to be introduced in phases.  
 
     As regards the figure of 5.4 million passenger journeys, TD has made it clear that it only represents the number of passenger journeys that enjoy the 5% and 10% same day return fare reduction on bus routes solely operated by individual companies.  The figure has not included passengers who benefit or will benefit under the other fare reduction initiatives, including the existing and new BBIs, and the elderly $2 flat fare/half concessions on Sundays and public holidays.  The figure has also not taken into account the number of bus passengers who would benefit when the 5% and 10% fare reduction on jointly operated routes are introduced in July 2006.  

     For the month of March 2006, the actual number of passenger journeys that benefited from the fare reduction initiatives that have already been implemented was about 670,000 per day.  “We expect that the number will further increase when the 5% and 10% fare reductions on the jointly operated routes are implemented in July 2006 and the remaining new BBIs come into operation,” the TD spokesman said.

     The article has also cited an increase of 2.5 million passengers in bus passenger volume in March 2006 in comparison with that in March 2005.  This figure is in fact the change in the total bus patronage across the whole network, instead of patronage increase on the routes with 5% and 10% same day return fare reduction.  Such a presentation may give an imbalanced picture because, while it is the increase in patronage over the whole bus network for assessing the implication for the bus companies on the one hand, it is only related to the 5% and 10% same day return fare discount on solely operated routes on the other hand.  

     “We note that the bus companies have made efforts in providing better bus fare concession packages, notwithstanding that they are facing increasingly difficult operating environment such as increasing fuel costs and stronger competition from other transport modes.  We will continue to ask bus companies to consider providing more concessions where feasible to reduce travel expenses of passengers having regard to the companies' own financial position,” the TD spokesman said.

Ends/Thursday, June 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 20:49