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Hong Kong Transportation

 

 

Hong Kong Transportation

 

 

Hong Kong Transportation

Hong Kong boasts an excellent public transport network, so it's very easy to get around Hong Kong. Generally, the Octopus card is an essential item when traveling in Hong Kong and Octopus “+” MTR + Buses is the dream team of Hong Kong transportation. One can reach most part of Hong Kong by using them.

By air

By train
By bus

By taxi

By ferries

 

By air

Competition of sorts is driving prices down slightly but expects to pay a premium to fly between Hong Kong and China as the government regulates the prices. Depending on the season, seats can be difficult to find due to the enormous volume of business travellers and Chinese tourists, so book well in advance. Some sample adult return fares valid for a year from Hong Kong are Beijing $2520, Chengdu $1970, Kunming $1890 and Shanghai $2200. One-way fares are a bit more than half the return price.

You should be able to do better than that, however, on both scheduled and charter flights, especially in summer. If you plan to fly to a destination in China from Hong Kong, you can save at least 30% on the above fares by heading for Shenzhen by bus or ferry and boarding the aircraft at Huangtian airport there.

By train
Hong Kong has an extensive train network. Public transport trains are operated by the MTR Corporation Limited. The MTR operates the metro network within inner urban Hong Kong, Kowloon Peninsula and northern part of Hong Kong Island with newly developed areas, Tsuen Wan, Tseung Kwan O, Tung Chung, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Hong Kong International Airport, the northeastern and northwestern parts of the New Territories. The Hong Kong Tramways operates a tram service exclusively on northern Hong Kong Island. The Peak Tram connects Central, Hong Kong's central business district, with the Victoria Peak.

By bus

You can reach virtually any major destination in neighbouring Guangdong province by bus from Hong Kong. With KCR East Rail services so fast and cheap, however, few buses call on Shenzhen proper, though most of the big hotels run minivans to and from that destination for around $100 one way. One-way fares from Hong Kong to other mainland destinations include Changsha $280, Dongguan $70 to $100, Foshan $100, Guangzhou $80 to $100, Huizhou $100, Kaiping $130, Shantou $180 to $200, Shenzhen’s Huangtian airport $150, Xiamen $370 and Zhongshan $100 to $150.Buses are run by a multitude of transport companies and depart from locations around the territory; the list that follows is only a sampling. Schedules vary enormously according to carrier and place, but buses leave throughout the day and departures are frequent.

By taxi

As of April 2005[update], there were 18,138 taxis in Hong Kong, operating in three distinct (but slightly overlapping) geographical areas, and distinguished by their colour. Of these, 15,250 are red urban taxis, 2,838 green New Territories taxis, and 50 blue Lantau taxis. Every day, they serve 1.1 million, 207,900, and 1,400 passengers respectively. Taxis carry an average of one million passengers each day, occupying about 12% of the daily patronage carried by all modes of public transport in Hong Kong.Most of the taxis in Hong Kong run on LPG (liquified petroleum gas) to reduce emissions. In August 2000 a one-off cash grant was paid to taxi owners who replaced their diesel taxi with an LPG one. Since August 2001, all newly purchased taxis run on LPG. By the end of 2003, over 99.8% of the taxi fleet in Hong Kong ran on LPG.

Taxi fares are charged according to the taximeter; however, additional charges on the fare table may apply, such as road tolls and luggage fees. Urban taxis are the most expensive, while Lantau taxis are the cheapest. The standard of service among different kinds of taxis is mostly the same. The reason for having three types of taxis is to ensure service availability in less populated regions, as running in the urban centre is considered to be more profitable.

By ferries

Internal routes

A Star Ferry carries passengers across Victoria Harbour. This particular one is painted with an advertisement that promotes Hong Kong as Asia's World City.

Tsim Sha Tsui Pier, a pier for Star Ferry services

New World First FerryMost ferry services are provided by licensed ferry operators. As of September 2003[update], there were 27 regular licensed passenger ferry services operated by 11 licensees, serving outlying islands, new towns and inner-Victoria Harbour. Two of the routes operated by the Star Ferry

External routes

In Hong Kong, there are three piers that provide ferry services to Macau and cities in southern China:

The Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal

The Hong Kong-China Ferry Terminal

The Tuen Mun Ferry Pier