The Star Ferry Company is due to increase the fare for rides between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon by 30 per cent in the next two years.
According to an amendment proposed by the company in July, prices for trips between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central and between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai will be increased.
The adult fare will increase by 40 to 60 cents and the fare for children will increase by 10 cents in February 2017. Fares will increase again in early 2018, when both groups will be charged an additional 20 cents, reported Apple Daily.
The Transport Department said the new amendment will be fully processed by the the first half of 2017.
Last December, the Star Ferry Company proposed a similar amendment which eventually fell through. The 2015 amendment originally proposed to increase the adult fare by 30 to 50 cents while prices for children and people with disabilities would remain the same.
The company’s spokesperson said that it pushed out a new amendment this year with a higher increase in ferry fares due to a drop in income and a rise in business costs. It added that one of the reasons for the new amendment is because last year’s amendment did not get approved by July 2016 as planned.
According to the amendment, the most significant price change is for the lower-deck adult fare from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui, which will increase from HK$2 to HK$2.6 by 2018.
Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, spokesperson for the Coalition to Monitor Public Transport and Utilities, said that the company’s 30 per cent increase in ferry fares is slightly too high. It is not good for citizens that the ferry industry has to drastically increase transportation fees to sustain itself every time, he said.
Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying of the Wan Chai district council said the increase is a lower fee adjustment compared to other methods of transportation.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that fares will be raised by single digit cents. In fact, they are expected to be raised by multiples of ten cents.
