Mar. 2 – Hong Kong’s iconic trams, which have been running since 1904 and connect along the entire length of Hong Kong Island’s north coast, are to be fully bought out by French company Veolia Transport China. Wharf Transport Investments will sell its remaining 50 per cent stake to Veolia who has promised to preserve the heritage value of the trams.
Hong Kong trams are known for being the city’s cheapest form of transportation at a flat rate of HK$2 per ride. Some passengers fear price hikes loom in the near future as Veolia plans to re-vamp the trams.
“Our ridership has been decreasing bit by bit over the years,” said Hong Kong Tramways Managing Director Bruno Charrade said to The Standard. “We are already such a cheap form of transport, so obviously they have left the tram not because of the price, but because of the service. So we will be focusing on improvements, not price.”
Some of the expected changes to the tram include maintenance, tram track upgrades, improvements to the overhead line system with better wires, and increasing the frequency of trams.
The Hong Kong system is notable for being one of the three tramways in the world that have regular operation of double-decker trams—the others being Blackpool tramway, in England and the Alexandria Tram system in Egypt—and is the only system that runs exclusively using double-decker trams.
The tramway runs on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong between Shau Kei Wan and Kennedy Town, with a branch circulating Happy Valley. Each day, 240,000 Hong Kong residents commute by tram, which is also a major tourist attraction.
