Passengers wait up to four hours for free ride on Lantau cable car
More than 10,000 people took a ride on the Lantau cable car on the fourth day of public trials yesterday in the first test of the new system's ability to handle heavy crowds.
Ngong Ping 360 managing director Morris Cheung Siu-wa said the crowds gave staff the opportunity to experience operating under such conditions, which mirrored those of Christmas last year. There were between 13,000 and 14,000 passengers on the peak day of the Lunar New Year holiday this year.
About 5,800 people rode the cable car on Sunday, while some 3,300 people rode it on Christmas Eve.
Service began 15 minutes earlier at 9.45am when the queue reached 200-strong, Mr Cheung said.
'Overall, I'm satisfied with the performance and the day went quite smoothly,' he said.
However, the number of aspiring passengers, many former KCRC staff members and their families and friends, quickly grew to between 2,000 and 3,000 and many who arrived in the morning were told to return in the afternoon because of the crowds. Each former KCRC employee had been given three tickets.
At 3.30pm, no one was allowed to join the queue, which saw many people waiting for as long as four hours for a ride.
Some elderly people left the queue to rest on nearby benches, while other passengers expressed frustration at the arrangements and lack of clear directions to toilets.
Mr Cheung said queuing for four hours might be necessary when passenger numbers reached 10,000, and there were some operational areas that could be reviewed based on yesterday's performance.
Trials will continue in preparation for the cable car's official reopening at 10am on Monday. The service was closed in June after an empty gondola crashed to the ground during testing of the braking system.
Tickets for the public opening will go on sale on Friday.
