Residents of Park Island, a private housing estate on Ma Wan, have expressed concern about the reduction of the island’s ferry services later this month.
The Transport Department issued a notice to the residents on July 27, saying that it had approved the application of Park Island Transport Company Ltd (PITCL) to cut ferry services and that the new schedule would come into effect on August 17.
In April, PITCL applied to reduce the frequency of Ma Wan ferry services, axing around one-third of weekday sailings and over half of weekend and public holiday sailings. It also said some of the sailings would be replaced by bus services.
Nathan Mittlestaedt, who moved to Ma Wan a little over a year ago, told HKFP that he was not entirely surprised about the cut, but “it was still a shock” for him.
Mittlestaedt also worried about the potential impacts the ferry service reduction may have on his wife’s cafe business on Ma Wan.
The number of tourists and customers – “if they’re coming in on the ferries” – is likely “to go down,” he said.
“It’s something we worry about,” he added. “I worry that in the future this is going to make it even harder to get people, you know, to come up, to come and work it out here for the businesses that do exist there.”
PITCL told HKFP that the reduction in ferry services was necessary for the long-term sustainability of its services.
“The ferry service provided by Park Island Transport Company has been operating at a significant loss for over 10 years, due to high operating costs and declining passenger numbers – at times reaching as low as 15% of the ferry’s capacity,” it wrote in an email on Monday.
“Residents have also been notified of the changes well in advance.”
In a notice on its website, the company also cited an “intolerable manpower shortage” as one of the factors for cutting the ferry services.
Not the first time
Zoe Hess, who has been a resident of Park Island since 2010, told HKFP on Monday that it wasn’t the first time the company had proposed reducing the ferry services.
“They’ve tried it a few times, they’ve tried to cut it, and there’s been enough kind of dissent [from residents] that they’ve managed to delay it,” Hess said.
The Transport Department previously declined a similar application from PITCL for a reduction in ferry services in 2018. The department said that, according to an agreement signed between the government and the developer of the Ma Wan area, the latter “has an obligation to provide proper ferry and bus services to and from Ma Wan.”
Mittlestaedt said that while he could see some merit to PITCL’s reasoning behind the service reduction, as “some of the ferries are relatively empty,” he questioned why the company did not explore other solutions.
“I think residents would be willing to deal with things like fare increases, or things like that, to support, you know, the ferries more. But it seems like that’s not something that’s really seriously entertained,” he said.
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Another Park Island resident, Jack, who only gave HKFP his first name, said that while the service reduction would not impact him personally, it would not be “quite convenient” for many residents.
PITCL said it would be expanding its bus services to serve as “the primary means” of transport for residents.
The company expanded its bus services to five routes in August, including a new route between Ma Wan and Central, with some services operating at four- to five-minute intervals, it told HKFP.
On Monday, the new circular bus route NR338S, between Ma Wan and Central Pier No. 2, was introduced on a trial basis, according to a notice from PITCL.
Consultation, meeting
In an email response to HKFP’s enquiry, the Transport Department (TD) said on Wednesday that PITCL revised its proposal after the TD arranged a formal consultation with local stakeholders, including Ma Wan residents, and District Council members in April and attended a meeting in June to “further explain the proposed ferry service adjustments to the residents and listen to their views.”
“Considering that the revised proposal together with the new [bus service] can help sustain the ferry operation, largely address the major views of locals and meet the passengers’ transport demand, the TD approved the proposal,” it wrote.
According to HKFP’s sources, residents at the June meeting largely opposed the reduction in ferry services.
HKFP has reached out to Park Island’s developer, Sun Hung Kai Properties, for comment.
