Section 5Public Transport

Public Transport

Hong Kong has a diverse multi-modal public transport system, comprising a Mass Transit Railway, a tramway, franchised buses, public light buses, taxis, non-franchised buses and ferry services, extending to almost every part of the territory. Rehabus services are also available for persons with mobility difficulties.

Public transport patronage decreased by 28.2% in 2020 when compared with 2019 to 8.9 million passengers per day. There was a decrease of average daily railway patronage by 32.1% over last year. The railway system, which carried 3.47 million passengers per day in 2020, is the largest passenger carrying mode. Coming next were the franchised buses, which carried 3.04 million passengers per day in 2020, representing a decrease of 25.8% against 2019.

Railways, being the most environmentally friendly form of mass transport, will continue to expand in network. It will form the backbone of Hong Kong's transport system with other modes playing a supplementary but still important role to ensure a choice of services for commuters. There were continuing improvements in the quality of franchised bus services. As at the end of 2020, all franchised buses were air-conditioned and Euro III or above buses with less emission. To ensure more efficient use of bus resources and to provide passengers with more choices of routes, bus-bus interchange schemes were continuously promoted. By the end of 2020, there were a total of 471 bus-bus interchange schemes.

The market share of ferry remained similar as last year at 1.0% in 2020 with an average of 85,910 passengers daily. As at the end of 2020, there were altogether 13 franchised and licensed ferry operators running 21 regular passenger ferry services, two dangerous goods vehicular ferry services and two special services at the harbour and to the new towns and outlying islands.