Ferry services between Discovery Bay and Mui Wo will stop unless the government agrees to the operator's plan to slash the number of sailings.
Peng Chau Kaito, which runs the service between the two Lantau towns, wants to reduce round trips on weekdays from five to two while maintaining the nine round trips during weekends.
'If the government says no to the proposal, we will stop operating the line from September 3,' director Ken Wong Hon-kuen said yesterday.
Without the 20-minute service, commuters - including office workers who live in Mui Wo and work in Discovery Bay, and schoolchildren - will have to make an hour-long bus trip via Tung Chung on Lantau's north coast. Or they can take a ferry to nearby Peng Chau and change to another boat there, adding 20 minutes to the journey.
The firm's proposal for departures from Discovery Bay at 7am and 3pm on weekdays would, however, continue to meet the needs of Mui Wo children attending school in Discovery Bay.
Peng Chau Kaito's service licence for the Mui Wo route expires today. It has agreed to maintain services for the time being as no other operator has shown interest in taking over. Wong said fuel costs had risen from HK$1.70 a litre in 2003 to HK$6.50 a litre, turning the service from a money-maker to a loss-maker.