Annex 5

Response to TTC Paper No. 2/2018 of the 13th Traffic and Transport Committee under Southern District Council on 22 January 2018

Review of the First Year’s Operation of (Include agenda item on “Follow up on the Design of Cover for Bus and Minibus Stops at the MTR Station” raised by Mr TSUI Yuen-wa and Mr Paul ZIMMERMAN, and “Review on Lack of Public Transportation from the Bays Area to the MTR Ocean Park Station” raised by Mr FUNG Se-goun, Fergus )

In respect of the agenda item on “Review of the First Year’s Operation of South Island Line”, the Transport Department’s response is as follows:

“Review of the First Year’s Operation of South Island Line” raised by Mr CHAI Man-hon

Wong Chuk Hang Station now serves as the main public transport interchange station for the South Island Line. There are two bus routes and four Green Minibus (GMB) routes providing feeder services for this station with details below:

Feeder Bus and GMB Service Coverage Fare Routes Shum Wan－－ CTB Route No. 48 $3.0 Wah Fu Estate (Circular) Wong Chuk Hang Station － NWFB Route No. 78 $3.2 Wah Kwai Estate (Circular) Wong Chuk Hang Station－ GMB Route No. 4M $4.2 Aberdeen (Shek Pai Wan) GMB Route No. 5M Wong Chuk Hang Station－ $4.2 Estate－Wong Chuk Hang Station－ GMB Route No. 29 $2.0* Shum Wan GMB Route No. 59A Shum Wan－Wong Chuk Hang Station－Aberdeen $3.9

*Section fare for service between Wong Chuk Hang Station and Shum Wan.

Owing to the increase in passenger demand, eight new 19-seater GMBs (including 5 brand new vehicles) were deployed to HKI GMB Route No. 4M for replacement, and additional special departures were arranged during peak hours to strengthen its service. Besides, the service hour of CTB Route No. 48 was also extended. Subject to the growth in passenger demand, this Department will continue to enhance the feeder services for South Island Line in accordance with established procedures. This Department has also arranged a survey to review Annex 5 the utilisation rate of the taxi stand at Wong Chuk Hang Station Public Transport Facility. Depending on the survey result, we will study how to better use the Wong Chuk Hang Station Public Transport Facilities.

“Review on Lack of Public Transportation from the Bays Area to the MTR Ocean Park Station” raised by Mr FUNG Se-goun, Fergus

Ocean Park Station is a major South Island Line interchange station for Stanley and the Bays Area. GMB Route No. 40M was introduced between 28 December 2016 and 21 May 2017 to provide a feeder service between Stanley and Ocean Park Station, and the original set-down point of CTB Route No. 629 at Ocean Park was converted to the terminus of GMB Route No. 40M. However, the passenger demand for this GMB route was very low since its introduction; hence the operator had ceased the service after months of operation (Please refer to the Transport Department’s consultation paper in April 2017 – See Appendix).

The Transport Department will review the passenger demand for the bus and GMB routes in Southern District from time to time. At present, passengers at the Bays Area could take the CTB Route No. 73 ( – ) and GMB Route No. 52 (Stanley Prison – Aberdeen (Shek Pai Wan)) to Exit C of Ocean Park Station (i.e. ) to interchange with the MTR, and the GMB operator had already deployed six 19-seater GMBs to GMB Route No. 52 for replacement to meet the passenger demand. Besides, the Transport Department will also explore with the GMB operator on the feasibility to introduce special departures from the en-route stops to address the issue of difficult boarding at en-route stops.

In order to allow easier interchanging at Ocean Park Station Exit C, this Department also proposed to install signalised pedestrian crossing at Wong Chuk Hang near Road. HyD has completed the tree survey and found that 5 trees would be affected by the proposed improvement works. HyD is now seeking the advices from the department who is responsible for the maintenance of the concerned trees.

Transport Department January 2018