LCQ14: Franchised bus services
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Question:
It is learnt that, under the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic, members of the public have reduced travelling, causing franchised bus companies to suffer a significant drop in patronage and substantial reduction of income, and some of the franchised bus companies even need to adjust bus service frequencies so as to reduce operating costs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that during the period when the epidemic was severe, the Transport Department (TD) had, in the light of the actual circumstances, approved the applications of franchised bus companies for temporary adjustments on the frequencies of some bus routes, of the respective numbers of bus routes of the five franchised bus companies for which frequency adjustments have been approved by the TD since the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020;
(2) as some members of the public have relayed that while the fifth wave of the epidemic has gradually stabilised, for quite a number of bus routes previously approved for frequency adjustments, the headway has still been maintained at an interval of 25 to 30 minutes during peak hours, whether the TD will request the franchised bus companies concerned to resume the normal frequencies of the relevant routes as soon as possible; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as it has been reported that the Citybus Limited and the New World First Bus Services Limited have experienced business difficulties in recent years, and the Government has indicated that it will explore various options and proposals with the two companies, so as to further enhance their operation efficiency and long-term financial sustainability, of the progress of the relevant work, and whether specific plans are in place?
Reply:
President,
The COVID-19 epidemic and relevant social distancing measures have led to varying degrees of drop in bus patronage over the past two years. In particular, the situation has become more acute after the outbreak of the fifth wave of the pandemic in January 2022, with the overall bus patronage dropped by more than 50 per cent from the pre-pandemic level. The Transport Department (TD) has been closely monitoring the pandemic development and changes in patronage, and has approved franchised bus companies to suitably adjust the frequency of some of their bus routes for better use of resources.
The reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan is as follows:
(1) and (2) Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, the TD has, having regard to various anti-epidemic and social distancing measures implemented at different times, approved temporary service adjustments by the bus companies as appropriate. During the approval process, the TD would consider factors including the extent of the drop in patronage, estimated occupancy of relevant routes after frequency adjustment, actual impact of the frequency adjustment on the passenger waiting time, efficient deployment of bus resources, absence situation of bus captains (e.g. those subject to isolation due to infection or subject to quarantine), public acceptability to the frequency adjustments, etc.
The service adjustments of relevant bus routes are temporary measures. The TD would continue to closely monitor and constantly review the operations of the routes and suitably adjust bus services to meet passenger demand. For reference, the TD approved the five franchised bus companies to adjust the services of a total of 794 routes at the peak of the fifth wave pandemic in mid-March this year. Please refer to annex for details.
As the fifth wave pandemic gradually subsided, the Government has relaxed social distancing measures in a gradual and orderly manner and fully resumed normal public services since late April this year. At the same time, franchised bus companies have also gradually resumed their services having regard to the passenger demand. Since early June this year, franchised bus companies have resumed operating the peakiest service frequency on all routes (except routes serving the airport and land boundary control points and a few overnight routes). Meanwhile, individual bus routes still having a relatively low patronage during non-peak hours (e.g. certain bus routes overlapping with railway service), supplementary routes for providing additional trips and overnight services are still approved of service adjustments as appropriate. Besides, in view of the anti-epidemic measures being implemented on boundary control and the actual patronage, routes mainly serving tourists or heading to the airport or land boundary control points as well as a few overnight routes are approved to maintain limited services or continue to suspend services.
The TD will continue to maintain close communication with franchised bus companies, closely monitor the patronage of all routes, and timely review and adjust the bus service level according to the changing passenger demand.
(3) It is of great importance to maintain the financial viability of franchised bus companies for providing safe and quality public bus service. The pandemic has posed significant challenges to the operations of franchised bus companies, including Citybus Limited (CTB) and New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB). In view of this, the Government has introduced a series of relief measures in the past two years or so under the Employment Support Scheme and the Anti-epidemic Fund, including fuel subsidies and other one-off subsidies, to help franchised bus companies cope with the operating pressure in the prevailing economic environment. The subsidies to CTB and NWFB under the above short-term relief measures are estimated to be around $780 million in total.
In the long run, the Government will continue to encourage and assist franchised bus companies to adopt a multi-pronged approach in implementing revenue-raising and expenditure-cutting measures, including enhancing bus service network through bus route rationalisation, further improving operational efficiency and increasing non-fare revenue, so as to improve their financial situation and improve service standards. As regards CTB and NWFB, the TD and the two bus companies are working to review and rationalise bus routes on Hong Kong Island taking a holistic approach and with due regard to the overall public transport network in the area, with a view to enhancing the bus network efficiency, thereby improving the sustainability of their operations.
Ends/Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Issued at HKT 12:44
Issued at HKT 12:44
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