Star Ferry passenger numbers down 20pc since relocation to 'lone island'
JENNIFER NGOjennifer.ngo@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Monday, 07 September, 2015, 12:01am
UPDATED : Monday, 07 September, 2015, 12:01am
Star Ferry chief captain, Chan Tsu-wing, left, and Samson Leung Shui-kin, operations manager. The company is trying hard to win back more passengers.Photo: Bruce Yan
One of Hong Kong's oldest transport companies is finding itself all at sea following a drop in passenger numbers since the relocation of Wan Chai pier.
Operations manager Samson Leung Shui-kin said the Star Ferry Company had lost 20 per cent of its passengers - with 19,400 daily trips down to 14,900 trips - since the pier was moved to a more isolated location in August last year.
"We've been operating for 117 years ... We hope Hongkongers will appreciate our historical value, and we're trying hard to regain more local passengers," said Leung.
It was also a struggle to rent out retail or advertising space at the relocated pier, he added. It took a full year before 10 small storefronts could be rented out, while the 10,000 sq ft full-seaview space, originally slated for a restaurant, still stands empty.
"The new pier is a lone island," said Leung. "We have no idea when the surrounding construction and land reclamation work will be done. There are no parking spaces, no drop-off spaces in front of the pier. Even if there's a restaurant, it's too inconvenient to get here.
"In the past, there was an elevated walkway connecting [the commercial buildings in Wan Chai] with the pier. Now, the walk is close to 30 minutes ... They also moved the bus stop, and it's at least 20 minutes away."
Leung said the company, which saw the four routes it operated cut to two - Central to Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui - in 2011, had been in touch with the Transport Department over its concerns, but no definite answer had been given yet.
"We hope an elevated walkway [across all the highway lanes] can be built so we are more easily accessible to our passengers, but there has been no indication that it will be done yet," he said.
Founded originally as the Kowloon Ferry Company in 1880 by a Parsee cook, the company started operating a 40-minute to hour-long ferry ride from Hong Kong Island to the Kowloon side.
The company was bought out by businessman Paul Chater and renamed as the Star Ferry Company in 1898.
The company is also facing problems in hiring sailors - currently there are 18 vacancies in a sailor team of 166. There are 247 employees in the company altogether, with 148 of them sailors and captains.
Chief captain Chan Tsu-wing said the sailor shortage kept him up at night.
"I started to wake up in the middle of the night again… I worry whether any of the staff will be late and about how to schedule the roster," said the 61-year-old, who recently renewed his contract for another five years, despite being past the retirement age of 60.
"I told [management] before that I don't want to continue, but I see their silent pleas... so I signed on again."
Chan joined the company as a sailor in 1984, and obtained his licence in 1988. He originally took the job for practical reasons, but slowly grew an appreciation for the old and historical transport and found satisfaction in his work, he said.
"You become attached to a place like this - I have a lot of pride in what we do. There is a huge satisfaction when you dock your ferry well," he said.
In the next five years, a quarter of the 148 sailor staff will reach retirement age, while only two of the 17 sailors hired in the last two years actually stayed on, said manager Leung.
"We don't benefit from the government subsidies other ferry companies have," explained Leung.
When the government introduced a HK$2 elderly persons' transport concession in 2012, the Star Ferry Company did not benefit from the subsidy as it had already been offering free rides to Hongkongers over the age of 65 since 1992.
The company also did not benefit from subsidies in repairing its fleet of eight ferries, Leung said. Meanwhile the company's wage package was not as good as those of other ferry companies, but he hoped it could soon be up to par.
Wages now are around HK$10,000 to HK$15,000 at Star Ferry, which is 10 to 20 per cent lower than other companies.
"Many of our employees are old employees who have stuck with us for a long time.
"We hope to give them a raise, and we hope to attract more new people," said Leung. "But we really need to think about how to attract passengers to our ferry services again."
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1855875/hong-kongs-iconic-star-ferry-sees-passenger-numbers-drop-20-cent
