My Lamma Forums

[Lamma-Gung]

New World First Ferry lost the bid for the Central-YSW route and we'll remain with HKKF. The results have just been announced, according to the bilingual Facebook group Concern for Lamma Ferry Service, run by our long-time forum member Gisela (also interviewed on TV about the ferries a few weeks ago):

[Yogesh]

$17.7 to SKW is insane. I would rather take Citybus 70 to Aberdeen and take the Chuen Kee Ferry from there.

$4.7+9.2 = 13.9

[spamoza]

Unbelievable! We get the same/ worse service for nearly 30% more - and the government is going to spend $2 million to get schools, NGOs and community groups etc to visit Lamma for FREE.

[Yogesh]

[Lamma-Gung]

The news was on the TV news yesterday evening and on many other media today. It all sound quite reasonable, such small increases, well below 10%, but it's just playing with figures and the reality is quite different.

What really bugs me is that the Transport Dept. claims that "For the Central-Yung Shue Wan route, the fares will increase by 5.5 per cent", which is an outright lie and playing with numbers, but it was quoted by all the media, except the Lamma-zine.

The actual figures are 22.9% increase for weekday sailings and 28.2% for weekend ones, as listed in the comments in the detailed announcement at
http://www.td.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/UTIL_UARTICLE_WN/paper%20(eng).pdf

It's only 5.5%, as widely quoted on TV and other media, if you compare the average cost of the current fast & slow ferries to the future slow-only ferries. It's kind of comparing economy and business class prices on flights. Using the current slow ferries only from July 1 and make them run a bit faster to save 5 minutes on the trip, as proposed, doesn't make them fast ferries!

The fact is that the slow ferries, all we'll be left with from July 1, will go up from $11.80 to $14.50 for adults, exactly 22.9%. Weekend slow ferries will increase from $15.60 to $20, a whopping 28.2%!

On the other hand, if you've favoured the fast ferries in the past, you'll actually pay a bit less for single trips from July 1, as the future slow-only ferries will be a bit less expensive ($14.50) than the current fast ones ($16.80).

[Foxy]

Using the current slow ferries only from July 1

I only hope you're right LG. The Central- YSW route is being taken over by an HKKF subsidiary, the same one that runs tours of the harbour/islands, mostly for mainlanders. Their boats are old, uncomfortable looking tubs. Given that HKKF is also taking over the Peng Chau route, I have an ominous feeling they'll be using our current slow ferries on that route, seeing that Peng Chau has a larger population than YSW and is therefore potentially more profitable

[Lamma-Gung]

Interesting additional info, Foxy.

But if they'd be using any fast ferries for our route that would mean we'd actually pay LESS for the same fast ferry trip from July 1! I don't believe in Santa Claus any more...

[Foxy]

They aren't fast ferries.

And I remember being so upset when I found out Santa didn't exist, I had to take the day off work

[Leggova]

I wonder about the schedule. Those fast ferries have a better turn around time and carry a lot of people at peak times. I hope they have done the figures to work out how many they will need. I can just see come July 1st a load of people not able to get on the ferry as it is full. That is just the kind of cock up I expect from this place

[Greenman]

So what's the bet that the Peng Chau route gets our fast ferries for which they'll be charging $24-50!

I can't see our operators springing for any new ferries, so looking at the existing fleet, the present fast ferries Sea Supreme class can run at 22 knots and carry up to 388 passengers. The present slow ferries Sea Splash class run at 16 knots and can carry up to 410 passengers. The other smaller fast catermarans can only carry between 100-200 pax so they can't be used on the "rush hour" ferries.

So I predict we will have the present slow ferries running a bit faster (and I do mean a BIT faster!) but as they don't have enough of this class they will probably also use the Sea Star (the one they use for harbour tours) which runs even slower at 15 knots but can carry up to 300 pax, Problem is that it has the big open area at the back so pity us on those wet and stormy days!

Conclusion, we'll get the same crappy slow ferries for a 20+% increase, they won't be any quicker in reality and lets not forget that the timetable has not even been finalised "the detailed timetable will be adjusted after consultation with locals before finalisation".

Well sorry, but our last "consultations" didn't get very far did they!

Bah Humbug

[Lamma-Gung]

News from Gilman (Yu Lai-Fan's assistant) in the Chinese forum and from Gisela's Facebook group:

According to HKKF:

Our company understand the concern over the ferry service of Lamma Island. In general, there will be no reduction in the schedule, but some minor adjustments

In the new service, the service will be run by the current fast ferry but on a more economical speed to reduce the fuel cost and wear & tear of the vessel, the increase on fares and cost thus can be reduced. Therefore the headway will be slightly longer than the current , the schedule thus have to be slightly adjusted to meet the aim to reduce cost.

According to ‘Gilman’ at Chinese forum of www.lamma.com.hk , please refer to "scanned image of Sun / PH schedule"

榕樹灣航线 （星期一至六）
YSW route （Mon to Sat）
中環開 From Central

6:30 ,7:10* ,7:30* ,7:50 ,8:10*,8:30* ,8:50 ,9:10* ,9:30* ,10:10 ,11:00*,12:00,
1:00* ,1:45 ,2:30* ,3:15 ,4:00* ,5:00 ,5:20 ,5:40* ,6:00,6:20* ,6:40* ,7:00,
7:30* ,8:00* ,8:30* ,9:30* ,10:30* ,11:30* ,12:30

榕樹灣開 From YSW

6:20* ,7:00* ,7:20 ,7:40* ,8:00* ,8:20 ,8:40*,9:00* ,9:20, 9:40* ,10:00*,
11:00 ,12:00* ,1:00 ,1:45* ,2:30 ,3:15* ,4:00 ,5:00 ,5:30*,6:10* ,6:30,
6:50* ,7:20* ,8:00* ,8:30* ,9:30* ,10:30* ,11:30*

* 可載貨
*goods can be carried on board

---

Click here to the scanned image of the future Sunday/Public Holiday schedule.

So they'll still be using the fast ferries, but at a LOWER fare for a single trip than we pay right now, and it'll be only a few minutes slower? I seem to have been wrong, so there IS a Santa Claus, after all? What sounds too good to be true, CAN be true, sometimes?

[Zippy]

So if they are using "single vessel type", but it's the current fast ferries, then how can we transport large freight?

[Alan]

So they will be fast ferries, but "goods can be carried" on some of them?

It will be interesting to see Nick wrestling sofas and wardrobes onto fast ferries.

[nobby]

I wish somone could explain to me the economics of this, using the fast ferries at a slightly lower speed but for roughly the same proportion less money means the company will make money???

Or was it as I may have mentioned before that the big old beastly things were far more expensive to run than the fast ferries .?/

I still don't see the logic here.

[Lamma-Gung]

Espresso writes:

data is available to download in the blog of Concern Group

http://yswlammafscg.mysinablog.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sir/ Madam,

Regarding the re-tender exercise of the four outlying island ferry services, the successful tenderers have provided their proposed operational details of the services commencing 1 July 2008. The concerned Island District Council members and the Rural Committees are being consulted on the proposed arrangements. I enclose herewith the proposed operational details for your information.

Once the details are finalized, the successful tenderers will put up notices at respective piers to inform passengers of the timetables accordingly.


Yours faithfully,
Janice Lai
Ferry and Paratransit Division
Transport Department

[Lamma-Gung]

Alan writes:

From the documents:
CENTRAL – YUNG SHUE WAN
(Commence on 1 July 2008)

Fares
Mondays to Saturdays: Adult $14.5, Child $7.3
Sundays and public holidays: Adult $20, Child $10
Monthly Ticket: $580
Freight (per cubic metre): $100

Journey time (excluding time for loading and unloading passengers): 27 minutes
No. Of Vessels & Carrying Capacity: 3 vessels (capacity : 200-381 passengers)

Mondays to Saturdays (except public holidays)

[Leggova]

Looks pretty good....could have been a lot worse!

[gisela]

Mind you, there will only be 3 vessels running the YSW route (and 1 for SKW), which are two big fast ferries plus 1 of the small ones. HKKF is spreading their current fleet to cover Peng Chau (which seems to get 2 slow ferries plus 1 small fast ferry), their entire fleet is stretched. Wonder if they have any back up vessels if anything happens ie. Breakdown or worse, typhoon. If YSW only has 3 fast ferries, and I doubt whether the small one can operate in high sea, I just wonder how efficiently they can in getting all of us back on Lamma Typhoon Signal 8 is hoisted during the day.

[Leggova]

[Lamma-Gung]

But I actually LIKE the big, slow ferries with their cute, bright blue plastic bowl seats and the overcranked aircon blowing icy air at our overheated, sweaty bodies in this hot & humid weather, soooo refreshing!

I'll be missing the slow ferries, my most common and cheapest form of transportation during the off-peak hours when I'm usually traveling to HK Island.

So do I need to move to Peng Chau to continue enjoying the slow ferries?
Maybe they could use a PengChau.com website/forum over there?