Hong Kong bus fares to rise by up to 7.5% next year

Written by wordpress December 18, 2024

Hong Kong’s bus fares will rise by up to 7.5 per cent next year, the government has announced though it said the majority of customers would not see fares rise by more than HK$1.

In a press release on Tuesday, the government said Chief Executive John Lee and the Executive Council had approved applications from bus operators for an increase in bus fares from January 5.

Buses run by Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) will see a fare hike of 4.3 per cent, while those operated by New Lantao Bus will rise by 6.5 per cent. Citybus fares will see the steepest rise at 7.5 per cent.

The government said it had evaluated bus companies’ operations, financial forecasts and public acceptability, among other factors, in reviewing the fare increase applications.

“Even though ridership and revenue of franchised buses has significantly improved since the pandemic, it has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels due to changes in people’s spending and travel habits,” a government spokesperson said in Chinese.

“Additionally, franchised bus operators need to offer reasonable salaries… and invest in transitioning to electric buses.”

About 80 per cent of passengers were expected to pay no more than 50 cents extra per trip, while 90 per cent of passengers were expected to pay no more than HK$1 extra, the government said.

It added it would also be assisting bus companies to enhance their revenue streams, including by capitalising on the resumption of multiple-entry visas for Shenzhen residents to promote special bus routes for tourists.

The three bus companies last hiked fares in June last year, according to a Legislative Council paper.

The Democratic Party, the city’s largest opposition party, said in a statement that annual bus fare increases were a burden to the public. It said that the bus companies should evaluate their operation models if they claimed to still be experiencing financial difficulties after already increasing their fares.

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Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong.

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