Hong Kong cross-harbour buses to cut fares further after passing tunnels
Government says move is aimed at providing greater choice for passengers, but critics say it will hurt routes which do not go through tunnels
The government is proposing to introduce a pilot scheme by late March to further reduce fares on cross-harbour routes after they pass through tunnels in a bid to provide greater choice for passengers.
The pilot scheme, involving 12 districts and 60 cross-harbour bus routes, will be introduced in three phases in the first, third and fourth quarters of this year, according to the Transport Department in a paper submitted to Eastern district council.
The first phase will involve 19 cross-harbour routes in Southern district and Sham Shui Po. They are routes 107, 107P, 170, 171, 671, 970, 970X, 971, 102, 102P, 112, 171, 171A, 171P, 904, 905, 914, 970 and 970X.
Cross-harbour buses currently charge lower fares after they pass through tunnels, but they are usually higher than those for buses which do not go through tunnels to avoid direct competition.
“In order to provide more choices for passengers, over the past year we discussed with three bus companies, Kowloon Motor Bus, Citybus and New World First Bus, about the possibility of further narrowing the fare difference between these two types of buses,” the department said, adding it would closely monitor the impact of further fare cuts on overall operations.