Three Hong Kong franchised bus companies have applied to increase fares by between 6.5 and 9.5 per cent, despite two of them reporting profits in the last financial year.
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KMB and New Lantao Bus both applied to raise fares by 6.5 per cent, while Citybus was seeking an increase of nearly 9.5 per cent for most of its routes, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Monday by the Transport and Logistics Bureau, confirming an earlier Post report.
The paper said KMB carried an average of 2.53 million passengers per day last year, generating a profit after tax of HK$20.2 million (US$2.6 million), compared with a loss of HK$41.2 million in 2022.
New Lantao Bus had 90,000 passengers a day in 2023 and made a profit of HK$2.9 million after tax, compared with a loss of HK$8.8 million after tax in the previous year.
Citybus, which carried an average of 840,000 passengers per day last year, incurred a post-tax loss of more than HK$57 million, after logging a deficit of HK$39 million after tax in 2022.
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The bureau said following the post-Covid resumption of social and economic activities, patronage and revenue in the franchised bus sector had shown an improvement compared with the pandemic period.