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Ferry whistles for help, officials, businessmen, and civilians support cross-sea traffic

2022-03-15T10:13:56.858Z


This Monday (14th), the Star Ferry issued a press release, stating that the number of passengers carried in the first two months of this year was only 27% of the same period in 2019, leaving 1.02 million passengers. The company has lost 70 million yuan since June 2019 and has to borrow to survive. Company except


This Monday (14th), the Star Ferry issued a press release, stating that the number of passengers carried in the first two months of this year was only 27% of the same period in 2019, leaving 1.02 million passengers.

The company has lost 70 million yuan since June 2019 and has to borrow to survive.

In addition to blaming the turmoil in the amendment and the new crown epidemic, the company also emphasized that cross-sea ferries have been marginalized in the transportation policy, and frankly said that the prospects are not optimistic.

From the two areas of transportation and culture, Tianxing and other ferry transportation are also worth preserving.

To rescue the ferry, government subsidies may be required during the epidemic, and after the epidemic, it will depend on corporate publicity to attract passengers and the support of the public.


Star Ferry expresses that operating difficulties are not a new thing, and this release has drawn the attention of the outside world, because the press release is quite straightforward and unceremonious, for example, it revealed that "the huge losses far exceed the company's total assets, and Sky Star has already fallen into the ranks of 'negative equity'. ”, “The monthly income is not even the salary of the employees, and it is almost exhausted.”

Companies now live on debt, which "may not be repaid until 2047!"

At present, Star Ferry still has many ferries in service.

(file picture)

More than the Star Ferry

Due to the social movement and the epidemic, the Star Ferry lost tourists, the mainstay of its passenger volume, and the approval time for the fare increase was also delayed.

Buses, minibuses, taxis and railways have survived the first four waves of the epidemic with local passengers, but the fifth wave will not survive.

The coverage of the Star Ferry is narrow, and the situation is even more severe after the opening of the cross-sea section of the MTR East Rail Line.

Furthermore, compared with its competitors, Star Ferry lost its geographical advantage.

Since the relocation of the Star Ferry Piers in Central and Wanchai due to the government's reclamation and road construction, citizens often feel inconvenienced at the thought of walking a long distance to reach the new pier or the central area of ​​Wanchai in Central, so they use other means of transport.

Even if the fare for crossing the sea is a fraction cheaper than the bus and MTR, it is difficult to make the ferry attractive.

Although the government exempted the fuel tax and undertaken the maintenance work of the wharf, it failed to offset the loss of Tianxing's loss of land.

The company's criticism of transport policies for marginalizing ferries has a double meaning.

Of course, in addition to the lack of passenger volume, the Star Ferry also has problems in its own operations. For example, it has not been successful in expanding its non-sea crossing service revenue, and it has to bear certain responsibility for the loss.

The Legislative Council document once mentioned that the boom in new restaurant openings at Wan Chai Pier has not continued, coupled with the impact of nearby works, the rental income of tenants in 2018 fell by about 17% to less than 30 million yuan.

In addition, during the epidemic, the harbour tour organized by the Star Ferry was accused of being mediocre.

Non-sea crossing and non-ticketing services failed to subsidize sea crossing services.

In fact, Star Ferry is not the only owner of the ferry company. It operates new ferries between Kowloon City and North Point in Hung Hom, as well as water taxis, and Fortune Ferry ferries in Central and Hung Hom, North Point and Kai Tak Kwun Tong have also suspended services due to the epidemic, resulting in loss of revenue. .

Passenger capacity of the Star Ferry from January to February 2018 to 2022.

(Photo provided by Star Ferry)

Ferry traffic should be retained to fight for subsidies, but also to "make a big cake"

In recent years, the community has discussed the value of ferries from time to time, not only with the Star Ferry, but with the overall cross-sea ferry service.

There is no doubt that the cross-sea ferry is worth keeping.

From the perspective of public transportation, the society needs to prepare for cross-sea railway or land traffic accidents, and cross-sea ferries can play a role in diverting traffic.

The ferry involves specialized technology, manpower and equipment, and it is difficult to recruit temporarily, and it is really necessary for daily operations.

The above statement only regards the cross-sea ferry as a substitute means of transportation, which is not aggressive enough.

For the Star Ferry, the company, the government and the general public also consider the Star Ferry to be a world-renowned tourist attraction, a symbol of Hong Kong, and of great cultural value.

All walks of life should go further, expand the future development space of Star Ferry, and turn it into profit for the company.

+4

The Star Ferry's press release only mentioned that the service "must be maintained", but there was no specific suggestion, which seemed to test the reaction of various sectors.

Needless to say, the Wharf Group, which owns the Star Ferry, recorded a net profit of about 6 billion yuan last year, and is conditionally injected into the Star Ferry to help it pay off its debts and meet future short-term losses.

Of course, even if the parent company has spare capacity, it does not mean that the company has to rely on the parent company.

When the traffic time is the weakness of cross-sea ferries, the transport authorities should find ways to shorten the time for connecting ferries, such as arranging short-distance medium-sized buses to travel between Central and Wan Chai downtown and the pier at fixed points. The fares are shared by the ferry and the passengers. Change the travel habits of passengers and condense the flow of passengers.

In addition, the commercial activities of the terminal also need to be continuously improved, and the subsidized ferry expenses can also attract passengers.

In comparison, other cross-sea ferry routes are farther from the city center, making it more difficult to attract people.

At present, only shipping companies apply for operating services under the consideration of profitability.

However, waiting for operators to apply for existing routes has a great chance of “reducing and shrinking”. The government should actively expand or resume routes, such as from Tuen Mun or Tsuen Wan to Kowloon West or Central, and provide subsidies in the early stage of operation. There are operators involved, and they can subsidize each other between their routes to expand the ferry market.

The government's transport policy is based on railways, but other public transport should not be left idle. Whether it is Star Star or other ferry services, it is also worth maintaining, and it should work with the industry to increase passenger capacity.

Over there, since citizens can't bear the disappearance of ferries, they can do their best and take more ferries after the epidemic.

Ferry fatalities have not been cured, run water taxis, revive the Hung Hom Central Line, we must change our strategy and do not repeat the same mistakes. The overall policy is more beneficial to the grassroots than the transportation subsidy.

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2022-03-15

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