Hong Kong public transport firms Citybus and New World First Bus to join forces in bid to stem losses
- Citybus and New World First Bus to join forces next year in new government 10-year deal, owner says it will invest more than HK$3.5 billion over franchise term
- Union warns that merger will reduce competition and not tackle underlying problems at the two companies
Public transport operators Citybus and New World First Bus will merge into a single company as part of a 10-year franchise renewal by the Hong Kong government.
The owner of the merged franchise, to be called Citybus Ltd, also said on Tuesday it would invest more than HK$3.5 billion (US$445.9 million) over the franchise term.
But a transport workers’ union warned the merger would reduce competition and also failed to tackle underlying management problems present in the two companies.
A government spokesman said the merger would not affect fares for current routes.
“The merger exercise will not come with any changes in fares for all existing routes. Citybus Ltd (Franchise for the Urban and New Territories bus network) will strive to enhance bus service reliability and further improve its lost trip situation,” the spokesman said on Tuesday.
The decision to allow a merger of the two franchises, which operated some overlapping services, would enable the city to continue to fine-tune its bus network and allow the owner of the combined firm to deploy its resources more flexibly, he said.
Relevant changes to bus routes would be handled by the government’s annual route planning programme, he added.
