Opinion | Property development profits and bus fare rises do not go together
Albert Cheng says that bus operators should follow the MTR's example and use revenues from property development to benefit commuters
Last week, I criticised the government for staging a farcical comedy with Kowloon Motor Bus in a bid to sugarcoat the reality of the bus operator's recent fare rise.
The article prompted KMB's deputy managing director, Evan Auyang, to respond, saying that the government had not supplied land at below-market rates for the company to build staff quarters and bus depots.
He also defended KMB's operating policies concerning its property development and its advertising business, RoadShow.
Auyang said the sites of former depots redeveloped by KMB's holding company - Transport International Holdings Limited - were acquired through open tender or public auction at market prices. Furthermore, he said, KMB, as the only franchised bus operator that supplies its own land for bus operations, has not charged any land rental to its franchised bus operations.
Auyang's explanation has confused the issue in question. The fact is when KMB bought those plots of land, they were zoned for industrial purposes. Take the bus maintenance centre. According to chapter five of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, the land is classified for industrial use only.
The company might have bought these sites at market rates, but they were meant for industrial use.