Bravo Transport urges HK govt to offer relief fund to public transport operators

Hong Kong's Bravo Transport has urged the government to include public transport operators in the upcoming round of its anti-epidemic fund, as Hong Kong is experiencing the fifth wave of the pandemic which leads to the drop in the demand for public transport services.

The company is now operating Citybus and New World First Bus in Hong Kong. Both companies have suffered from a significant drop in patronage of more than 40%. Meanwhile, the patronage of the entire public transport sector has dropped by over 30%.

The company said, "Our business relies heavily on the Hong Kong Airport and cross-border routes, along with cross-harbour and commuter services. The latest work-from-home arrangements, current social distancing measures and cross-border travel restrictions have made us extremely vulnerable."

It added, "We implore the government to support public transport operators by applying proportionate subsidies including covering the wages of our frontline staff during these extraordinary times. Our frontline colleagues have consistently gone above and beyond to maintain these critical public services in the past two years, for which we believe they deserve credit, recognition and now financial support."

Bravo Transport said it was losing about HK$25 million a month, adding that it had an accumulated loss of about HK$379 million. Last month, it sold its stake of about 2.78 million shares in Octopus Holdings to MTR Corporation. In a statement, the company said the pandemic and the current wave relating to the Omicron variant continued to put intense pressure on its business. As Hongkongers can hardly travel and only a handful of international visitors coming to the city, Bravo Transport said the high revenue drivers from the Hong Kong airport and cross-border routes, which have a cross-subsidising effect on local routes, have suffered the most significant impact.

After the transaction, MTR Corporation said it will hold about 64% of Octopus Holdings shares, an increase of about 6.6 percentage points from 57.4% before the transaction. Bravo Transport's remaining stake of about 0.6 million shares in Octopus will be sold to another company. It did not tell the identity of the buyer.

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