Dear Staff and Students,

In connection with the expiry of the current Student Bus service (serving Northwestern New Territories) contract on 31 December 2023, a tendering exercise for the new service has just been conducted and it is noted that a much higher tender cost has been returned which however was expected.

If this Student Bus, which should be operating on a self-finance basis, has to be kept running under the new contract, we forecast at least a 45% increase in fares has to be introduced but judging from the experience learnt from the operations of the three Staff Buses since their fares were increased in August 2023, the continual operation of the Student Bus under the new contract rates will not be sustainable and the University will have to bear continual running deficit which is highly undesirable.  Indeed, a total deficit of over HK$2 million on running this Student Bus has been recorded since 2013 but only a few full-time students are actually using this Student Bus daily; it is hence more prudent to spend the subsidy in other areas for benefiting the full-time students at large.

In fact, with an improving public transportation network being developed, particularly after the introduction of KMB Route No. 73F, there are much more cheaper alternatives available to our staff and students for traveling to our Tai Po campus from Tuen Mun, Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long and vice versa as shown in the Appendix.  As revealed from the statistics collected after the launch of KMB 73F, the patronage of the Student Bus is already reducing daily and it is for certain that the patronage of the Student Bus would only drop further if its fares are to be substantially increased under the new contract.

In view of the unfavourable situation of the continual operation of the Student Bus, it was agreed at the Senior Management Committee meeting on 13 December 2023 that the Student Bus service should be terminated but in order to give more time for the affected users to adapt to the change, it was also agreed that the Student Bus service will be continued for three more months with the current fares payable but under the new contract rate.  The Student Bus service will then be formally brought to an end on 1 April 2024.  Attached please also find the Student Bus service schedule from 2 January 2024 until 28 March 2024.

Meanwhile, we would enhance the U Shuttle service if needed and keep on liaising with KMB and Transport Department for exploring more feasible options with a view to serving our campus better.

For enquiries, please contact our Kelvin Cheung at 2948 6154 or Raymond Choi at 2948 7474.

Estates Office

https://www.eduhk.hk/eo/system/files/2023-12/Student%20Bus%20-%20Appendix.pdf

https://www.eduhk.hk/eo/system/files/2023-12/SchoolBus_2024.1-2024.3.pdf