The applications to raise fares between 6.5 and 9.5 per cent by the three franchised bus companies in Hong Kong have been submitted to Legco on Monday, the report says.
According to the reports, KMB and New Lantao Bus both applied to raise fares by 6.5 per cent, while that of Citybus would go up to nearly 9.5 per cent for most of its routes, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Monday by the Transport and Logistics Bureau.
The paper stated that KMB carried an average of 2.53 million passengers per day last year, generating a profit after tax of HK$20.2 million (US$2.6 million), compared with a loss of HK$41.2 million in 2022.
New Lantao Bus had 90,000 passengers a day in 2023 and made a profit of HK$2.9 million after tax, compared with a loss of HK$8.8 million after tax in the previous year.
Citybus, which carried an average of 840,000 passengers per day last year, incurred a post-tax loss of more than HK$57 million, after logging a deficit of HK$39 million after tax in 2022.
The bureau said following the post-Covid resumption of social and economic activities, patronage and revenue in the franchised bus sector had shown an improvement compared with the pandemic period.
It said in the first half of 2024, franchised bus firms had an average daily ridership of about 3.7 million, surpassing the about 3.1 million recorded in 2022.
However, they had only managed to recover to about 90 to 95 per cent of pre-pandemic levels at 3.8 million to 4 million, it said.
“With rising salary expenses and volatile fuel costs, as well as continued competition for passengers with other transport modes, the financial situation of franchised bus operators has not been satisfactory,” the bureau said in the paper.
It said the government would consider factors such as operating cost and public affordability before submitting recommendations to the Executive Council.
Gary Zhang Xinyu, a member of Legco’s transport panel, said the fare increase demands were like “a lion opening its mouth wide”, given two of the firms logged profits in the last financial year.
“The trends have been positive in recent years across various aspects such as international oil cost, ridership and revenue, with no significant negative factors,” he said.
“There has even been noticeable growth in income for bus companies, especially on cross-border and airport routes.
“However, despite these positive trends, the bus companies have proposed fare rises significantly above the inflation rate, which is difficult to justify.”
Citybus said the adjustment would only be its fourth since 2009, during which the consumer price index had increased by more than 50 per cent, while its fares had only risen 24.9 per cent.
He added the proposed 9.5 per cent rise translated to only an average increase of 80 HK cents, based on its current average fare of HK$8.10 per journey.
A KMB spokesman said the proposed adjustment was made with great caution, aiming to strike a balance between financial sustainability for development and public acceptance.
香港3間專營巴士公司擬加價最高9.5%
通報稱，香港三間專營巴士公司已於週一向立法會提交加價6.5%至9.5%的申請。
根據週一向立法會提交的文件，九巴和新大嶼山巴士均申請加價 6.5%，而城巴大部分路線的票價將上漲近 9.5%。
該報稱，九巴去年平均每天載客253萬人次，稅後利潤為2,020萬港元（260萬美元），2022年則虧損4,120萬港元。
新大嶼山巴士2023年每日載客量為9萬人次，稅後獲利為290萬港元，而前一年稅後虧損為880萬港元。
城巴去年平均每日載客84萬人次，繼2022年錄得稅後赤字3,900萬港元後，稅後虧損超過5,700萬港元。
該局表示，隨著疫情後社會及經濟活動恢復，專營巴士業的乘客量和收入較疫情期間有所改善。
報告稱，2024年上半年，專營巴士公司的平均每日乘客量約為370萬人次，超過2022年的約310萬人次。
然而，報告稱，他們僅恢復到疫情前水準的約 90% 至 95%，即 380 萬至 400 萬。
該局在文件中表示：“由於工資開支上升、燃油成本波動，以及其他交通方式持續爭奪乘客，專營巴士營辦商的財務狀況並不理想。”
它表示，政府在向執行委員會提交建議之前將考慮營運成本和公眾負擔能力等因素。
立法會交通事務委員會成員張新宇表示，鑑於其中兩家公司在上個財政年度錄得盈利，加價要求就像「獅子張開大嘴」。
「近年來，國際石油成本、客流量和收入等各個方面的趨勢都是正面的，沒有重大的負面因素，」他說。
「巴士公司的收入甚至出現了顯著成長，尤其是跨境和機場路線。
“然而，儘管有這些積極的趨勢，巴士公司提出的票價漲幅仍大大高於通貨膨脹率，這是很難證明的。”
城巴表示，此次調整是自2009年以來的第四次調整，2009年消費物價指數上漲逾50%，而票價僅上漲24.9%。
他補充說，根據目前每程8.10港元的平均票價，擬議的9.5％的上漲意味著平均僅上漲80港仙。
九巴發言人表示，建議的調整是非常謹慎的，旨在在發展的財務可持續性和公眾接受度之間取得平衡。
Source: SCMP
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