靚妹 2008-5-21 06:13 PM
Bus fares up
[b]Bus fares up
[/b]Bonnie Chen
[i]Wednesday, May 21, 2008[/i]
[table=250][tr][td][img]http://hk-imail.singtao.com/newsimage/20080521/5_2008052100162458640bus.jpg[/img][/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][/tr][tr][td][table=250][tr][td][size=1][color=#00e0][/color][/size]
[img]http://203.80.0.221/openx-2.4.6/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=64&campaignid=34&zoneid=4&channel_ids=,&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fhk-imail.singtao.com%2Fnews_detail.asp%3Fpp_cat%3D30%26art_id%3D66123%26sid%3D19015785%26con_type%3D1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fhk-imail.singtao.com%2F&cb=6b9edce9f8[/img]
[/td][/tr][/table][/td][/tr][/table]Bus passengers will have to dig deeper into their pockets from next month but the bus companies say its not deep enough. The new fares with hikes between 2 percent and 7.24 percent are effective from June 8. About 85 percent of passengers will have to pay an extra 40 cents a trip, Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng Yu-wah said after yesterdays Exco meeting that approved the hikes. But a government source told The Standard that fares of most daily routes will rise by 70 cents, with 88 percent of KMB passengers paying an extra 40 cents. Fares on routes 307 and 373 running from the New Territories to Central will increase the most by 4.4 percent or 90 cents. Fares on some routes to the airport and Sha Tin racecourse, as well as overnight services, will increase by between HK$1.2 and HK$3. The hefty 7.24 percent approved rise applies to New Lantao Bus Company because of its weak financial position. New World First Bus can raise fares by 5 percent 0.8 percentage points less than it requested. KMB can only raise 4.5 percent, half of what it asked for, and Long Win Bus, 4.5 percent, 1.4 percentage points lower than what it proposed. Citybus, which proposed a 5.8 percent rise, can only up its fare by 2 percent for its Franchise 1; Franchise 2, which runs the North Lantau and airport routes, will have to maintain fares, given its strong financial position. Fares for cross-harbor routes jointly operated by KMB, Citybus and NWFB will increase by around 4 percent. Passengers and bus companies have both expressed disappointment. The companies say Excos slashing of their fare increase bids shows the governments lack of understanding about the difficult business environment in which they operate. New World First Bus said it will continue to run at a loss. But although its fare-hike application was slashed 50 percent, Kowloon Motor Bus said the company will live with it, even though its fuel costs cannot be covered. A government source said the new rates do not directly follow the outcome of the 4.67 percent of the fare- adjustment formula, emphasizing it is only a benchmark. The administration instead took into consideration a basket of factors including cost, revenue, reasonable return for the operator, public acceptability and affordability and service quality. Also taken into consideration was the rise in fuel prices, even though it is not a factor because of its fluctuations. The source added a fuel surcharge cannot be granted, otherwise other public transport operators will demand it. The government estimates the approved fare increases will lead to a 0.08 percentage point rise in the Composite Consumer Price Index for Q2. The flagfall fare for urban taxis was raised from HK$15 to HK$16 on February 28 and from HK$12.50 to HK$13.50 for New Territories taxis. The Star Ferry is proposing to raise upper-deck fares for the Tsim Sha Tsui- Central and Tsim Sha Tsui-Wan Chai routes from HK$2.20 to HK$2.50 for weekdays, while lower-deck fares will rise from HK$1.70 to HK$2. It also plans to introduce weekend and holiday fares: HK$3 for the upper- deck and HK$2.40 for the lower-deck.
