Citybus denies 'sky-rocketing fare increase', KMB says applications based on operating conditions, passenger volume
Citybus has earlier proposed a 9.5% fare increase, while KMB and New Lantau Bus (NLB) have applied for a 6.5% increase.
Citybus Senior Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager Andy Tsang said in a radio program today (21st) that it has been more than a year since Citybus last increased its fares due to rising fuel and wage costs, and that the company's application has been approved for implementation in the first quarter of next year, which is more than one and a half years after the last fare increase. The company has been facing losses in the past six years, and although the amount of loss narrowed last year, it still suffered a loss of more than HK$50 million, and it needs to consider making up for the loss from the fare side.
As to whether there is a need for an annual fare increase, he said that wage cost is a major consideration, accounting for 60% of the total cost, and workers also expect an annual increase in manpower, and if the wages are not competitive, failure to recruit sufficient manpower will lead to situations such as short bus shifts, and so on.
Regarding the application for a 9.5% fare increase, Tsang does not agree that it is a "sky-rocketing fare increase", stating that this is the fourth application for a fare increase since 2009, and that there has been no fare adjustment from 2009 to 2018, and that even with this fare increase, the fares will still lag behind the cumulative inflation rate.
In the same program, KMB's head of communications and public affairs said that the application for fare increase was made in consideration of changes in operating conditions and passenger volume. He explained that staff and fuel costs had risen, and KMB's patronage had only recovered to about 90% compared to the pre-epidemic period. The rate of fare increase applied for by KMB was lower than that of the previous two applications, and he believed that the government would take into account the public's ability to accept the increase, and that the Toll Fund could be utilized to alleviate part of the rate of increase.
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KMB and Citybus respond to proposed fare hike: Adjustments to consider public acceptance
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