KMB has lost more than 50,000 passengers a day to Ma On Shan Rail since it opened last month and might need to cut more routes if they do not return in the long term, the company's managing director said yesterday.
The number of lost passengers represents 1.8 per cent of Hong Kong's largest bus operator's overall 2.8 million passengers a day.
Managing director John Chan Cho-chak said: 'For now, because the line has only opened for a month and there were some holidays and cold days with less people going out, we have lost about 50,000 passengers each day.
'But the figure is not that accurate. We have to wait at least until after the Lunar New Year before making a comparison or assessment.'
Ma On Shan Rail, which opened on December 21, offers alternative public transport for residents in the eastern East New Territories.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation is carrying 80,000 to 90,000 passengers a day on the new link.