New transport set-up at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal helps passengers reach city centre faster, operator says
- Throughput rate rose by 94 per cent for guests arriving on Spectrum of the Seas, managing director Jeff Bent says
- New government measures include increased bus routes between terminal and various locations in city
Passengers disembarking at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal were able to board transport to the city centre this past weekend nearly twice as fast as before due to new measures, the operator of the port on Monday said.
Worldwide Cruise Terminals managing director Jeff Bent said the transport situation for guests arriving on Spectrum of the Seas on Saturday was much smoother compared with two weeks ago, when passengers were forced to wait for as long as 45 minutes for taxis or buses.
“We estimate the throughput rate increased by around 94 per cent,” Bent said.
Passengers were able to leave faster under the government’s new arrangements, which included increased bus routes between the terminal and various locations in Hong Kong, he added.
Bent stressed that the buses, especially the free shuttles between the Kai Tak MTR station and the terminal, were a “basic” necessity worth keeping.
But when asked who should pay for the bus services in the long run – the government, cruise companies or terminal operators – the managing director pointed out that air and seaports in the city were currently not responsible for transport arrangements.
He also called on authorities to consider developing the area near the terminal to include hotels, car parks and shopping centres so tourists could choose to stay there once they disembarked.
Tourism chief Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Saturday said he would look into how the terminal operator could share the cost of the additional logistics arrangements.
Bent said shuttle buses were the preferred transport mode for visitors who arrived on ships making short transit stops at Kai Tak, such as the Spectrum of the Seas, as many were only there for day trips and did not have luggage on them.
“But for cruises that make Hong Kong a home port, passengers tend to go for taxis because they are carrying luggage,” he said.
Bent was responding to complaints by taxi drivers who had driven into the terminal on Saturday after the government ramped up cab services under its new transport measures and offered perks such as coupons for petrol and tunnel fares.
But many cabbies said business was slow, and some had to wait up to an hour before finally picking up a passenger.
Bent said his company would continue to meet taxi drivers to discuss ways to improve their trips into the terminal, such as better communication about the passenger situation at the port and making the coupons more attractive.
He also said he hoped taxi drivers would be allowed to request a surcharge for picking up passengers at the terminal.
Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas returned to Hong Kong on August 4 after more than a year away due to pandemic-related restrictions. The vessel will use the city as its home port from December 2024.
But reports of crowding at the terminal and long waits for passengers hoping to use public transport to visit other parts of the city prompted the government to convene an emergency meeting with the terminal operator to discuss ways to improve the situation.
