Bus frequency varies with route

I refer to Yau Ka-wing's letter 'Long delay'(South China Morning Post, March 20), about our routes 90 and 92 from Ap Lei Chau.

To better respond to passenger demand, we adopt two types of bus schedules for our routes.

One is a 'walk-on' service with a flexible schedule that caters to routes with high frequency departures. The other is the straightforward timetable service, with buses on such a route running according to a displayed schedule detailing the departure time.

Route 90 is an example of a 'walk-on' bus route. It has frequent departures throughout the day due to its constant high level of passenger demand. Our internal target is for a route 90 bus to depart every six minutes. The waiting time should be, at most, six minutes. During the morning rush hours of 7am to 9am, more than 11 buses are deployed on this route, between Ap Lei Chau and Central.

Due to their frequent departures, we usually do not provide timetables for 'walk-on' routes. Very often, buses depart when full, rather than waiting for a set departure time.

By using a 'walk-on' schedule, our supervisory staff are able to adjust departures to cater for actual demand.