Advertisement
Advertisement

Buses on route meeting passenger demand

We refer to the letter about New World First Bus Route 13 (Sunday Morning Post, July 1).

The No 13 operates daily between Star Ferry Pier, Central and Kotewall Road, at intervals of between eight to 20 minutes. A total of seven buses are deployed on this route and the bus type assigned depends on a number of factors, including the geographical features of the route, the expected passenger volume and the availability of different bus types.

Your correspondent felt the single-decker buses were not coping with the volume of passengers on Sunday evenings. According to our inspectors' figures, the heaviest demand for the No 13 is during morning and evening peak hours on weekdays.

On Sundays, the single-deckers are still capable of taking all passengers.

Route 13 requires a shorter bus type, so some double-decker buses cannot operate on it, because of the geographical limitations of the roads. However, the kind of bus that is suitable on this route is also in demand on other recreational routes on Hong Kong Island that run along narrow, hilly landscapes, such as Stanley, Repulse Bay and Shek O.

There is strong passenger demand in these areas on Sunday evenings during the summer.

We have to deploy our bus types in the most efficient manner to meet passenger demand on different routes.

Given that there is a sudden rise in passenger numbers when Filipinos in Central are all heading home at around the same time on Sunday evenings, we will continue to closely monitor this route.

ELAINE CHAN

Public Affairs Manager

New World First Bus Services Ltd

Post