A very Hong Kong love affair with trams

Hong Kong Tramways boss Emmanuel Vivant wants to improve network, but knows he cannot do anything that harms Hongkongers’ attachment to the ‘ding ding’

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Emmanuel Vivant stands in a tram in the Whitty Street depot. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 1:02pm, 8 Jul 2017Updated: 3:58pm, 10 Jul 2017

It was quite literally a love story. Before Emmanuel Vivant became the boss of Hong Kong’s iconic tram system, he shared a romantic moment with his wife on a “ding ding” when the couple were visiting the city several years ago.

Sitting in his office at the Whitty Street tram depot with dozens of toy trams, the managing director of Hongkong Tramways recalled how he and his Korean wife, whom he met in Paris, exchanged wedding rings on the tram after they got married elsewhere.

“We were still living in Korea at the time. We came here for a visit. We bought our wedding rings in a jewellery shop at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui. Then we crossed the harbour and took the tram. We exchanged wedding rings on the tram,” Vivant said.

From 2009 to 2012, Vivant was based in Seoul where he was in charge of strategy for Asia and business development for South Korea and Southeast Asia for RATP Dev Transdev Asia (RDTA), which owns and operates Hong Kong Tramways. He is now RDTA’s chief executive officer.

The French mechanical and civil engineer came to Hong Kong as the tram’s director and general manager in 2012 and was then promoted to managing director two years later. After he arrived, the tram company made several changes such as adding air conditioning in one car during a three-month trial and a rubber coating to tram tracks to minimise noise, and introducing a new smiley logo.

The firm has also faced challenges including the blocking of tram tracks in Causeway Bay during the pro-democracy Occupy movement in 2014 and the toppling over of a vehicle in Central earlier this year.

But Vivant knows that the 110-year-old transport system cannot be changed drastically. He understands that the tramway, which he describes as “a part of Hong Kong’s heart”, is more than a just a means of public transport. He says Hongkongers undoubtedly have an emotional attachment to the “ding dings” – just as he and his wife have.

A very Hong Kong love affair with trams

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong Tramways boss Emmanuel Vivant wants to improve network, but knows he cannot do anything that harms Hongkongers’ attachment to the ‘ding ding’

Hong Kong Tramways boss Emmanuel Vivant wants to improve network, but knows he cannot do anything that harms Hongkongers’ attachment to the ‘ding ding’