************************************************************
As the Island Line extension to Kennedy Town opened for public use today (December 28), the Transport Department (TD)'s Emergency Transport Coordination Centre (ETCC) monitored road-based transport and traffic conditions and maintained close liaison with the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) and public transport operators.
The operation of the extended Island Line to Western District and other public transport services was generally smooth up to 4pm today.
"The TD has deployed officers at strategic locations to observe the traffic and pedestrian flow. It will also continue to monitor the transport and traffic conditions in the vicinity of the new railway stations and maintain close liaison with public transport operators to ensure smooth operation," a TD spokesman said.
To tie in with the extension of Island Line to Western District, the TD has introduced a new feeder bus service, namely Citybus (CTB) 43M (Tin Wan - Shek Tong Tsui (Hill Road)) plying between Tin Wan, Wah Kwai, Wah Fu, Victoria Road and Kennedy Town Station/HKU Station for use by members of the public living in areas relatively far away from the new railway stations. The new feeder bus route has replaced the service of CTB M47 (Wah Fu - Central (Hong Kong Station)) which ceased operation from today.
Meanwhile, the TD has also introduced three new Green Minibus (GMB) railway feeder routes (Nos. 23M, 54M and 58M) connecting Southern District and Kennedy Town Station. A GMB boarding and alighting area has also been constructed outside Kennedy Town Station to assist members of the public using the above new GMB routes to interchange with the rail service.
Passengers using the above new bus and GMB services to interchange with the rail service can enjoy a fare concession with the Octopus Intermodal Discount (Adult Octopus Discount is $0.5) at Kennedy Town Station. Passengers can also use Octopus interchange concessions between the newly introduced bus route CTB 43M and other CTB routes 1, 5B, 10 and A10 travelling via Sai Wan, Central, Wan Chai, North Point and the airport. Two existing GMB routes (Nos. 8 and 28) have also introduced new sectional fares to capitalise on their feeder role and to assist passengers travelling to and from HKU Station.
As it is anticipated that there will be changes to the travel pattern of passengers in the district upon the opening of all new railway stations in Western District, a public transport re-organisation plan (PT Plan) has been formulated. The TD will, after full commissioning of the extended Island Line to Western District, gradually implement those relatively large-scale items such as the amalgamation of bus routes under the PT Plan according to the actual situation, to make it easier for the passengers to adapt to the changes.
The TD reminds the public to allow more time to familiarise themselves with the new rail extension and to avoid a last minute rush in making their journeys. The department's ETCC will continue to monitor the transport and traffic conditions tomorrow.
Ends/Sunday, December 28, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:23
NNNN
