Bus Fares Still Affordable After Hike: Lam Sai-hung

Passengers are set to see bus fares go up by as much as 7 percent next month after the Executive Council approved a request from five operators to increase prices.

Kowloon Motor Bus has been given the go-ahead to push up fares by 3.9 percent, while Citybus and New World First Bus will increase prices by an average of 4.9 percent.

New Lantao Bus is allowed to bump up fares by 7 percent, and Citybus will charge 4.2 percent more for its airport services.

KMB and New Lantao Bus had sought increases of around 9 percent, while Citybus and New World First Bus had requested a HK$2 increase for urban routes.

Transport minister Lam Sai-hung said he believes the new fares – which will take effect on June 18 – are still affordable.

“Nearly 90 percent of passengers will pay less than 50 cents more for each trip. And also, nearly all the passengers do not need to pay more than HK$1 more per trip,” he said.

“When we talk about fare increase, it's important that it should be affordable to passengers. On the other hand, we have to maintain the financial sustainability of the bus company. That is why we have come to this rate of fare increase.”

Lam said bus operators will be in a better position to improve services and staff welfare after the fare adjustment, adding that officials will work with them to boost non-fare revenue.

"There are a few ways to achieve this. For example, we can consider setting up delivery pick-up points at some bus termini. We can also consider introducing certain charging facilities."

A transport-concern group, for its part, described the level of fare increase as reasonable.

“Because [the increase] is very close to the trend of CPI (Consumer Price Index). The four percent increase is mild,” Ben Hon, the chairman of Public Transport Research Team said.

But Hon called on bus operators to beef up their service levels after the fare adjustment, saying some firms have been slow in bringing back pre-Covid service frequencies.

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