'Ferry Companies Should Boost Non-fare Revenue'

The government was on Friday urged to help ferry companies increase their non-fare revenue, so they don’t have to pass all increases in operational costs on to their passengers.

The Transport Department revealed in a Legislative Council document on Wednesday that it is handling applications for fare increases for 10 ferry routes, including requests to double the prices for journeys between Central and Peng Chau, Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan.

Speaking on RTHK’s Backchat programme, Southern District Councillor Paul Zimmerman said the ferry piers are dilapidated, but could be done up and put to good use.

"It’s a question of negotiation between the ferry operators and the government, and then the various government departments… the Planning Department, the Lands Department and the Transport Department to sort out how you can make better use of these properties and make sure there’s non-fare revenue," he said.

Another speaker on the programme, Alok Jain – CEO and managing director of consultant company Trans-Consult – said while fare hikes are inevitable in the face of inflation and increasing operational costs, a company's poor business performance should not be a factor when the government considers whether to approve fare rises.

"The financial performance of an operator is irrelevant in my opinion. It’s a business at the end of the day, if someone doesn’t want to operate it, they can exit, and somebody else can come in," he said.

"Right now, the model seems to be that poor financial performance is an incentive for the operator, because the poorer they do, the higher the fare they can increase… I don’t think that’s how it should be approached. We need to find operators who maximise their returns."

Both also said the fare increase calculations should be made more transparent to the public.

At a Legco Finance Committee meeting, Transport Secretary Lam Sai-hung said the government will be the gatekeeper and will take into account factors including the companies’ operation, fiscal position, fare and non-fare revenue, as well as people’s affordability, before making a decision on any increases.