Hong Kong: The Facts
Transport

Buses and Minibuses:

By end December 2022, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) operates 365 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories and 68 cross-harbour routes. Fares range from $3.5 to $14.2 for urban routes, from $2.2 to $50.5 for the New Territories routes and from $10.9 to $42.0 for the cross-harbour routes.

With a fleet of 3 901 licensed air-conditioned buses, mostly double-deckers, KMB is one of the largest road passenger transport operators in the Southeast Asia. The fleet carries an average of about 2.21 million passengers a day ^{Note 1}.

The New World First Bus Services Limited operates 47 Hong Kong Island routes, 32 cross-harbour routes and 16 routes serving Kowloon and New Territories, and carries an average of 353 800 passengers daily ^{Note 1} by a fleet of 640 licensed air-conditioned buses. Fares range from $3.8 to $14.5 for Hong Kong Island routes, $4.1 to $17.4 for Kowloon and New Territories routes and from $10.9 to $39.8 for the cross-harbour routes.

Citybus Limited (Citybus) operates two bus networks under two franchises. One of the networks comprises 51 Hong Kong Island routes, three Kowloon routes, seven New Territories routes and 44 cross-harbour routes. With a fleet of 710 licensed air-conditioned buses, this network carries an average of about 352 200 passengers a day ^{Note 1}. Fares range from $3.1 to $15 for Hong Kong Island routes, from $4.9 to $18.1 for Kowloon and New Territories routes and from $11 to $39 for the cross-harbour routes.

Citybus has another bus network which mainly provides services between urban areas and Airport/North Lantau. The network comprises 30 routes and 180 licensed air-conditioned buses. Average daily patronage is about 49 000 passengers ^{Note 1} and fares range from $3 to $58.

Long Win Bus Company Limited mainly provides bus services between New Territories and Airport/North Lantau. It operates 39 routes with a fleet of 264 licensed air-conditioned buses. Average daily patronage is about 78 500 passengers ^{Note 1} and fares range from $3.5 to $45.

The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited operates 26 Lantau routes and one route travelling to and from Shenzhen Bay Port and carries an average of 65 200 passengers daily ^{Note 1}. Fares range from $3.4 to $47.2. The fleet consisted of 132 licensed air-conditioned buses.

The bus companies are continuously encouraged to fit their fleet with environmental-friendly engines.

Public Light Buses (PLBs) are minibuses with not more than 19 seats. Their number is fixed at a maximum of 4 350 vehicles. Some PLBs are used for scheduled services (green minibuses) and others for non-scheduled services (red minibuses).

Red minibuses are free to operate anywhere, except where special prohibitions apply, without fixed routes or fares. By end December 2022, there are 997 red minibuses.

Green minibuses operate on fixed routes and frequencies at fixed prices. By end December 2022, there are 67 main green minibus routes on Hong Kong Island, 81 in Kowloon and 208 in the New Territories, employing a total of 3 352 vehicles. Red minibuses carry about 159 500 passengers a day, while green minibuses carry about 1 170 500 passengers daily ^{Note 1}.

Augmenting franchised buses and PLBs, there are 6 905 non-franchised public buses registered as at end December 2022 to provide services mainly for tourists, students, employees and residents.

Taxis:

By end December 2022, the 15 250 urban taxis (red), 2 838 New Territories taxis (green) and 75 Lantau taxis (blue) carry about 720 000 passengers daily ^{Note 1}. Urban taxis operate throughout Hong Kong except Tung Chung Road and roads in South Lantau. New Territories taxis mainly operate in the north-eastern (i.e. north of Sha Tin) and north-western (i.e. north of Tsuen Wan) parts of the New Territories. Lantau taxis operate only on Lantau Island and in Chek Lap Kok. All taxis are allowed to provide services at the passenger terminals of Hong Kong International Airport, the Public Transport Interchange at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) (Hong Kong Port) and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Taxi fare scales are stipulated in the law. Urban taxis charge $27 for the first two kilometres or any part thereof. The incremental charge for every subsequent 200 metres or part thereof and for every waiting period of one minute or part thereof is $1.9 until the amount reaches $93.5, and $1.3 after the amount has reached $93.5. New Territories taxis charge $23.5 for the first two kilometres or any part thereof. The incremental charge for every subsequent 200 metres or part thereof and for every waiting period of one minute or part thereof is $1.7 until the amount reaches $74.5, and $1.3 after the amount has reached $74.5. Lantau taxis charge $22 for the first two kilometres or any part thereof. The incremental charge for every subsequent 200 metres or part thereof and for every waiting period of one minute or part thereof is $1.7 until the amount reaches $175, and $1.5 after the amount has reached $175.

Railway System:

Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a heavily patronised railway network. By end December 2022, the heavy rail network has a total length of about 271 kilometres. The railway system in Hong Kong consists of Kwun Tong Line (Tiu Keng Leng – Whampoa), Tsuen Wan Line (Tsuen Wan – Central), Island Line (Chai Wan – Kennedy Town), Tung Chung Line (Hong Kong – Tung Chung), Tseung Kwan O Line (Po Lam/LOHAS Park – North Point), East Rail Line (Admiralty – Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau), Tuen Ma Line (Tuen Mun – Wu Kai Sha), Disneyland Resort Line (Sunny Bay – Disneyland Resort) and South Island Line (Admiralty – South Horizons). Standard class fares for adult single journey ticket range from $4 to $62.5. The MTR also operates a 35.2 kilometres Airport Express connecting the city centre with the Hong Kong International Airport and the AsiaWorld-Expo. Fares for adult single journey ticket range from $6 to $115.

The MTR system also covers a Light Rail network in Northwest New Territories, which comprises 36.2 kilometres with 68 stops and is supported by feeder bus services. Fares for adult single journey ticket range from $5.5 to $7.5.

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Hong Kong Section) (XRL) connects Hong Kong to the national high speed rail network and reduces the rail journey time between Hong Kong and various major cities in the Mainland. Currently, the XRL trains run between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and 66 Mainland destinations, including 10 short-haul and 56 long-haul destinations.

The MTR, XRL and Airport Express networks comprise a total of 99 stations. By end December 2022, the entire MTR railway system carries an average of about 4 million passengers each day ^{Note 1, 2}.

Trams:

Trams have been running in Hong Kong since 1904. The Hong Kong Tramways Limited operates seven routes along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island on a 16-kilometre track. A total of 168 double-deck trams are used for the services between Shau Kei Wan and Kennedy Town and around Happy Valley. The adult fare is $3 and an average of some 117 000 passengers are carried daily by end December 2022 ^{Note 1}. The company's fleet of trams include two open-balcony party trams, one premium party tram (these three party trams are for private hire), one air-conditioned tram, one sightseeing tram for tourists and three maintenance trams.

Ferries:

The "Star" Ferry Company Limited, established in 1898, operates two cross-harbour ferry routes. Fares for adult single journey range from $2.6 to $4.2.

Sun Ferry Services Company Limited (formerly known as New World First Ferry Services Limited) took over the operation of the licensed ferry services from The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited since January 15, 2000. It currently operates six inner harbour and outlying island passenger ferry services with fares for adult single journey ranging from $8.5 to $47.1.

The Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Limited, Discovery Bay Transportation Services Limited, Park Island Transport Company Limited and some other operators run other cross-harbour and outlying island passenger ferry services. In 2022, local ferry services carry about 82 100 passengers daily ^{Note 1}.

In addition to passenger ferry services, there are two vehicular ferry routes for dangerous goods vehicles.

Private Transport:

There are 571 412 licensed private cars in Hong Kong, accounting for 71 per cent of all vehicles as at end December 2022.

Parking:

By end December 2022, the Transport Department (TD) manages about 4 000 parking spaces for private cars/vans and 600 parking spaces for motorcycles in 10 Government multi-storey car parks. Together with an open-air car park for coaches, these parking facilities are managed by two private operators. There is an estimate of some 745 600 additional off-street parking spaces, of which about 200 300 are for public use and about 545 300 are designated for private use in commercial, residential and industrial premises.

If traffic situation permits, the TD would provide on-street parking spaces at appropriate locations to address the demand. To deter prolonged occupation, on-street parking spaces are metered in areas with limited spaces and high demand. Currently, there are about 36 400 on-street parking spaces, among which about 17 100 are non-metered and about 19 300 are metered. Metered time mostly falls between 8am and midnight from Mondays to Saturdays and between 10am and 10pm on Sundays and public holidays.

Road Tunnels:

Central to Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System:

Opened in 1993, the system consists of covered walkways, 16 reversible one-way escalators and three reversible one-way travelators. It starts at Queen's Road Central, passes through narrow streets in Central and ends at Conduit Road. Managed by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the system is used by about 78 000 people daily.

Tsing Ma Control Area:

Opened in May 1997, it covers a key section of the highway route to Northwest Lantau, Ma Wan, the Hong Kong International Airport and the HZMB (Hong Kong Port). It comprises a 21-kilometre expressway network including Tsing Kwai Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Cheung Tsing Highway, Northwest Tsing Yi Interchange, Ting Kau Bridge, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, Lantau Link (which comprises Tsing Ma Bridge and Kap Shui Mun Bridge), Ma Wan Road and North Lantau Highway (up to Sunny Bay Interchange). The Lantau Link is used by around 51 600 vehicles daily. The Government waived the tolls of the Lantau Link from December 2020 in tandem with the commissioning of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel.

Tsing Sha Control Area:

It covers a key section of the highway routes to Sha Tin, West Kowloon, Container Terminal No. 8 on Stonecutters Island and Container Terminal No. 9 in Tsing Yi. It comprises a 13-kilometre expressway network including Stonecutters Bridge, Nam Wan Tunnel, Eagle's Nest Tunnel, Sha Tin Heights Tunnel, and Tai Wai Tunnel. It was fully opened in December 2009. The HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, will be implemented in Tsing Sha Control Area in May 2023 to replace all manual toll booths and Autotoll lanes. Motorists can pay tolls using toll tags, without having to stop or queue at toll booths for payments.

Cross-boundary Traffic:

There are four cross-boundary railways connecting Hong Kong and the Mainland, namely the Lo Wu, the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, the Hung Hom Station and the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station crossings ^{Note 2}.

Apart from cross-boundary railways, there are six road boundary crossings connecting Hong Kong and the Mainland, namely Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, Shenzhen Bay, the HZMB (Hong Kong Port) and Heung Yuen Wai road boundary crossings. Heung Yuen Wai is the sixth road boundary crossing which cargo clearance facilities have operated since August 26, 2020. The commencement of the passenger clearance services will be subject to the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022^{Note 2}, the total numbers of cross-boundary travellers using the Shenzhen Bay and the HZMB (Hong Kong Port) crossings are about 930 000 and 190 000 respectively.

As affected by the pandemic, the total number of cross-boundary travellers and vehicles using the above boundary crossings dropped significantly as compared with the period prior to the epidemic. By end December 2022, the total number of cross-boundary travellers using the above crossings was about 1.12 million, among which 190 000 passengers used shuttle buses at the HZMB (Hong Kong Port), 30 000 passengers used other cross-boundary passengers vehicles and 900 000 passengers used other local public transport services. For cross-boundary vehicular traffic, the total number of vehicular trips recorded at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, Shenzhen Bay, Heung Yuen Wai and the HZMB (Hong Kong Port) crossings are 530 000, 580 000, 30 000, 1.16 million, 310 000 and 220 000 respectively, amounting to about 2.83 million vehicular trips in total.

Note 1: The average daily patronage of public transport are calculated based on calendar days in 2022, not operation days.

Note 2: As affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, passenger clearance services at various land boundary crossings have been adjusted as follows (as at end December 2022):

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Information as of the end of 2022, unless otherwise stated.

May 2023