Transit Travelog: Hong Kong
Welcome to Transit Travelog—a recurring feature on the Good Service blog where I share my experiences on how to get around in different places around the world through my travels, as somebody who takes the New York City Subway every day.
Hong Kong has a special place in my heart. Not only is it my place of birth, I love the food, the unique East-meets-West culture, and of course, its efficient public transit systems. I went on a trip to Southeast Asia in January, and decided to schedule in an 8-hour layover at one of my favorite cities.
Airport Express
Upon arriving at Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport, I was greeted with signs for the Airport Express train, advertising “24 minutes to the city” and it being the “fastest link to the city.” The platform of the train is located right inside the airport terminal and the train runs once every 10-12 minutes. The train makes just two stops–Tsing Yi (in New Territories) and Kowloon, before reaching its final destination at Hong Kong station in Central, 21 miles (35 kilometers) away. Free shuttle buses are provided to serve hotels near the Kowloon and Hong Kong stations.
At HK$110 (around US$14) for a one-way ride, the Airport Express is a premium-fare express rail service run by the Mass Transit Railway company (MTR) targeted to business travellers and tourists, and has a separate fare structure than the rest of the MTR, but if you are transferring to/from the conventional system, that fare is included. Almost every time I’ve taken it, trains have been less than half full. The one exception I encountered was when a storm halted traffic at the nearby Tsing Ma Bridge, preventing buses from accessing the airport. Special circumstances aside, many locals including my aunt, opt for taking buses operated by other companies. A ride to various destinations in New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island costs between HK$21-$48 (around US$2.60-$6.10), and with more choices in routing, buses may have the benefit of offering a more direct route too.
Being a premium-fare service means there are other premium benefits too. In-town Check-In service is available at Kowloon and Hong Kong Airport Express stations on the way to the airport. Instead of having to drag your baggage on public transit and pray that you get to the check-in counter at the airport before it closes, you can check-in your flight and baggage at the train station, and not have to carry anything with you until you’ve reached your destination. The checked baggage is then loaded on to a separate storage car of the train and will travel to the airport to be processed automatically. Have a late flight? Check in your bags as early as 24 hours in advance, then you can enjoy the city for the day and go directly to Security and Customs when you get to the airport.
MTR
MTR is what most people use to get around in Hong Kong, and is the sole heavy rail operator in Hong Kong after it merged with the technically-suburban-but-still-feels-like-a-metro train system (the East Rail Line’s rolling stock still has a first class cabin), Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR) in 2007. Since then, they have integrated: fares have unified and fare gates between the two systems have been removed. The MTR is a quasi-privatized publicly-traded company, but the government still holds 75% of its shares. Fare are by distance: they are typically HK$4.60-$10.40 (US$0.60-$1.33) within Hong Kong Island or within Kowloon and the closer parts of New Territories, HK$10-$14.70 (US$1.27-$1.87) for trips that involve crossing Victoria Harbour, up to HK$31.90 (US$4.06) for trips between the far suburbs and up to HK$57 (US$7.26) for trips to/from the two stations that are border checkpoints to Mainland China. Monthly passes are only available for longer-distance commuters.
Systems such as the ones in London, Tokyo, and Shanghai are often cited as ones we should aspire to. However, I believe the MTR is the best rapid transit system in the world. Sure, it may not have features like, being an old system that has turned itself around and kept up to date, have trains that follow some predefined timetable to the minute or a rapidly-expanding system that now has the most tracks. MTR even has its fair share of scandals (more on that later), but there’s much to love about the MTR: its 99.9% on-time performance, retrofitted platform screen doors at every station (except for the above-ground/at grade stations on the former KCR lines), air conditioned platforms, open gangways on trains since its opening in 1979, 90 of its 93 stations are wheelchair-accessible, beautiful Chinese calligraphy of the station names on platform walls, not to mention its custom Chinese signage font—MTR Sung, is an example of a well-designed contemporary Traditional Chinese typeface (they use Myriad for English).
MTR also has an absurdly high farebox recovery ratio of 186%–the proportion between its revenue and operating expenses, it is the highest in the world. In comparison, New York City Transit’s is around 55%. However, a lot of it has to do with how MTR is also a property development company that develops and owns malls, office towers and residential properties around subway stations, and how the government provides cheap land to MTR in order to accomplish all of that; so I won’t get into that, as it is a rather unique arrangement.
The one thing I love the most about the system is how efficient it is to for riders to get to where they need to go. A large majority of its station entrances have signs separating inbound and outbound pedestrian traffic. Once you’re in a station, there are separate turnstiles for entering and exiting, so riders entering the station don’t interrupt the flow of people exiting the stations. There are high-speed escalators (running at 0.8 meters per second, while New York City Subway’s escalators crawl at 0.45 meters per second) which are faster than ones of any other transit systems in the world, that bring you to the train platforms, useful especially for the deep stations on the Island Line that are typically several stories deep.
Need to make a transfer? Don’t worry, you probably won’t have to wait very long. Trains often arrive within 5 minutes or less, with the Island Line having the lowest headway of 1 minute 50 seconds during peak hours! There is a number of cross-platform interchanges in the system, so in many instances you don’t even need to walk to a different platform to catch the next train. Let’s say you are on the Tsuen Wan Line headed towards Central: if you need to transfer to the Kwun Tong Line towards Tiu Keng Leng, you can cross the platform at Prince Edward to board the next train. Heading towards Whampoa instead? Cross the platform at Mong Kok.
When the Eastern Harbour Crossing was built in 1988, the Kwun Tong Line was extended over from its previous terminus at Kwun Tong in Kowloon to Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island. The transfer to the Island Line for riders commuting to the Central district involved going up two sets of escalators and walking across a long passageway, causing pedestrian congestion and inconvenience. To alleviate the overcrowding, the Quarry Bay Congestion Relief Works project was completed in 2001, which brought the Kwun Tong Line (now taken over by the Tseung Kwan O Line) one station further to North Point, creating a cross-platform interchange there.
Octopus Card
Yeah sure, whatever, London has its Oyster Card, I get it. But Hong Kong has had its Octopus Card much earlier than that (since 1997) and it’s much more ubiquitous. Considering the MTR’s fares vary by distance, having a stored value card is useful. You can get an on-loan Octopus card with a refundable deposit of HK$50 (US$6.37) with a minimum value of HK$100 (US$12.74). You can also get a sold Octopus card for HK$39 (US$4.97) with no required minimum stored value.
Now obviously, you can use the tappable Octopus cards on various forms of transit–MTR, buses, public light buses, trams, coaches, ferries, some taxis; but given that Hong Kong is still very much a cash society and small transactions are common, Octopus cards are also accepted in store that may not always accept credit cards, like: convenience stores (7-Eleven and Circle K come to mind), fast food outlets (e.g. McDonald’s, KFC, Café de Coral, Fairwood), supermarkets, Starbucks, bakeries, vending machines, parking meters and even for the admission fee to enter one of the two racetracks! It essentially acts as a debit card for Hongkongers to use on small transactions.
Other Forms of Public Transit
Living up to its reputation as a capitalist paradise, Hong Kong has many competing options for public transportation to choose from. Unlike New York, the MTR only runs a handful of buses and a light rail system that feed into its rail network, both inheriting from the merger with KCR. There is no fare integration to other systems.
For those traveling within Hong Kong Island, the Hong Kong Tramways system is a scenic alternative to MTR’s Island Line to which it runs largely parallel to. Not only is it home to the largest fleet of double-decker trams in the world, it is also a cheap way to travel with a flat fare of HK$2.60 (US$0.33), whereas the MTR fare from the business district of Central to the shopping district of Causeway Bay would be HK$5.50 (US$0.77). Unfortunately, there are still only two trams that have air conditioning and Hong Kong can get pretty hot during the summer. They are still not wheelchair-accessible. These trams have their own right-of-way, but are still significantly slower than the MTR because of more stops and traffic lights.
In suburban areas of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, MTR runs a network of Light Rail transit loops to serve public housing estates. Fares are by proof of payment and are by zones. Like the Hong Kong Tramway, these light rail vehicles run in their own right-of-way. The West Rail Line was completed 15 years later in 2003, and now the light rail system serves as a feeder to the rapid transit line.
Similarly, public buses run by five different private companies provide another alternative to the MTR, but to all parts of Hong Kong. Fares are regulated by the government, vary by route destination and by where you board, as you only pay when you embark. The fare is more expensive if the route crosses Victoria Harbour or if it’s headed to the airport. In comparison with the examples above, a bus fare from Central to Causeway Bay is as low as HK$3.70 (US$0.47). Buses reach many parts of Hong Kong not accessible to the MTR and provide more flexible connections than what the MTR can offer.
For areas underserved by MTR and public buses, public light buses (also known as minibuses) come into the picture. These are independently-owned vans that seat up to 19 passengers (no standing allowed). Green minibuses run on fixed routes with fixed schedules and fixed fares, while red minibuses typically run like share taxis that depart when they are full. Minibus drivers are notorious for speeding, as a result the government has hilariously required minibuses to have large digital speedometers visible to passengers installed at the front. But of course, the drivers still speed anyway.
With over 200 islands in Hong Kong’s jurisdiction, ferries operated by 12 operators are crucial for access to some of its remote islands. Even between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, at HK$2.20-$3.70 (US$0.28-$0.47) for a one-way ticket, the Star Ferry is a popular and cheap way to cross Victoria Harbour. It takes around nine minutes and has a headway of 6 to 12 minutes. Additionally, there are some intercity ferries connect Hongkongers with destinations in Mainland China and Macau.
Despite having a variety of public transportation options, Hong Kong is not bike or even pedestrian friendly. Cycling facilities like bike lanes are basically non-existent in urban areas. Intersections are often hostile to pedestrians. In busier parts of the city like Central and Mong Kok, pedestrians are often forced to use footbridges or underground tunnels to cross intersections. The recently completed Central–Wan Chai Bypass, a HK$36 billion (US$4.6 billion) automobile tunnel, shows that the government is more interested in commodifying road space than to curb car use.
Future
Recent expansions to the MTR network include the West Island Line (a.k.a. Extension of Island Line to Western District; 2014) and the medium-capacity, driverless South Island Line (2016).
While London and Paris are building massive new expansions to their systems with Crossrail and Grand Paris Express respectively, the MTR has its own ambitious project with the Shatin to Central Link. Originally budgeted for HK$70 billion (US$8.9 billion), the cost has now ballooned to HK$97 billion (US$12.4 billion) and has been delayed by at least a year. And this is not even taking into account that the project is currently embroiled in a scandal that involves shoddy construction by a contractor and allegations of a cover-up. Controversy aside, this project will connect the West Rail Line with the Ma On Shan Line to form the new Tuen Ma Line, and the third harbour crossing for the system will be created when the East Rail Line is extended to Admiralty station on Hong Kong Island. In anticipation for this project, the Kwun Tong Line was extended by two stations from Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa in 2016 to facilitate a transfer to the future Tuen Ma Line.
China’s high-speed rail network has reached this quasi-city-state with the opening of the Express Rail Link to Mainland and Hong Kong West Kowloon Station in 2018. But, this project was not without controversy either, mainly regarding its enormous price tag and the joint checkpoint arrangement, which allows Mainland Chinese laws to be applied on Hong Kong soil. It also incurred massive cost overruns (from HK$65 billion to HK$84 billion, or US$8.3 billion to US$10.7 billion) and its opening was delayed by three years.
After riding Hong Kong’s MTR, it is now easy to imagine what an almost-perfect rapid transit system looks like. Given the exclusive local control of transportation policies in this city, they are able to build what is good for the city without much opposition. However, the lack of a uniform fare structure between the systems and the use of fare by distance unfairly penalizes the poor, who typically cannot afford living close to their work. The multi-tier nature of the different transportation options mean those who can afford it, can pay their way to get to where they need to be faster, while those that can’t are left behind. Some would be tempted to argue that Hong Kong is the poster child and a success story for privatization of public service, but the MTR is still technically controlled by the government and despite its success, is not exactly scandal-free.
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