Contract routes remain key part of services
CITYBUS operates a number of specialised contract coach services around Hong Kong and Kowloon, which offer expanded service to travellers.
Such coach services at present consist largely of contracts for Ocean Park, China Light and Power, TVB, the Peak Tram and the Jockey Club.
Citybus has an arrangement with Ocean Park and the MTR which allows for Ocean Park admission tickets to be sold at many MTR stations and Citybus kiosks.
Ticket holders can travel to and from Ocean Park by Citybus, with admission to the park, on the same tickets.
Citybus sold 25 per cent of all Ocean Park admission tickets in 1992, and the company earned commission on these sales.
This service operates between Admiralty and Ocean Park.
The popular Peak Tram-Star Ferry open-top bus contract is in its sixth year of operation and is free to passengers.
The TVB staff bus contract has been in operation since 1988 and provides free transport for staff and others between Kowloon and TVB's studios at Clearwater Bay.
Coaches on this contract run on a 24-hour basis throughout the year and provide transport for 5,000 employees.
China Light and Power has its own buses but Citybus offers engineering, management support and drivers to the company, as it does with the Jockey Club.
These contracts represented about 30 per cent of annual revenue for 1992.
On a broader scale, Citybus has international coach services to China.
These started with the Hong Kong to Shenzhen route in 1984.
Initially, 10 double-deckers were run but the company soon saw potential for growth by using high-capacity, air-conditioned coaches.
The first such bus was put into service in 1987 and was soon followed with three similar buses. Passenger reaction was so positive that another 12 vehicles with a higher carrying capacity of 94 passengers were bought in 1989 to cope with the growth in business.
Citybus also operates a China link service between Hong Kong and Dongguan, to the north of Shenzhen, and this service has been expanded to three return journeys daily.
By the end of 1991, Citybus had been authorised to operate 10 coaches on the international service, providing six border crossings daily on weekdays and 10 on weekends with additional crossings on an ad hoc basis.
There are 23 coaches plying the Hong Kong to Shenzhen route, carrying 350,000 passengers every month with stops en route to the airport.
