On weekends, Adolf Hsu Hsung prefers to ride the bus. The managing director of New World First Holdings can afford more glamorous forms of the orange and white buses within his company's 750-vehicle fleet, but finds this is a great way to stay in contact with front-line workers. He talks to bus drivers, terminal workers and fleet supervisors for a close-up view of what is happening curb side.
Mr Hsu says: 'It provides a two-way exchange of views and will help me in mapping out future strategy and to get direct feedback. From Monday to Friday, I go to work in the office, but on Saturday and Sunday I try to use the buses as much as I can.'
No doubt Mr Hsu's weekly visits to the garage are also a big morale booster for staff, but he deflects any praise or self-aggrandisement, saying the visits are part of his management responsibilities.
'My golden principles are to work out good strategy and then try and communicate it well to the staff. I have a team of senior staff, they all understand what I am trying to do and what the board wants us to do.'
Most stock market watchers are more familiar with the Hang Seng Index constituent New World Development, the parent of New World First Holdings. Oriented around a transport-related theme, the subsidiary has greater visibility on the streets and waters of Hong Kong. New World First Holdings includes bus services, ferry services within Hong Kong waters, vehicle parking and ferry services to Macau.
The overall strategy, born with the launch of New World First Bus in 1998, is to invest heavily in new equipment and train staff to provide excellent front-end service. The first two years of bus operations saw the company purchase 500 new double-decker buses.