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The Mass Transit Railway Corp. (MTRC) on Wednesday announced that, beginning September 28, it will expand the free interchange scheme, which is only available between the Airport Express and Island Line at the moment, to East Rail, West Rail, Ma On Shan Line, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Extension to attract passengers who are passing through Hong Kong to other destinations.
For instance, travelers going from the airport to the mainland via Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau border checkpoints will be able to save up to HK$37.9 a trip by taking the Airport Express to Tsing Yi and then the Tung Chung Line to Lai King and MTR Tsuen Wan Line Prince Edward and MTR Kwun Tong Line to Kowloon Tong, where they can switch to East Rail for Lok Ma Chau or the former Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR, now part of MTRC) to Lo Wu. However, only an Octopus Card can save the passenger that much money.
Some cross-boundary bus companies predicted their routes between the airport and Shenzhen or Dongguan may lose 10 percent of customers to MTRC lines.
Currently the Airport Express carries an average of about 30,000 passenger/trips a day with trains departing every 12 minutes and taking about 24 minutes to complete the journey.
When the free interchange scheme is expanded to cover all other MTRC rail lines on September 28, the company noted, only Octopus Card holders can enjoy the benefit of a free trip, because the single-trip tickets are taken back by the company when an Airport Express passenger exits any of the stations along the line and will have no proof of eligibility for the discount.
Right now the first part of the journey from the airport to Lo Wu on board the Airport Express and using Octopus Card costs HK$60 a trip to Tsing Yi, while the rest of it costs another HK$37.9 on three other lines. Come September 28, a passenger using Octopus Card will be charged only HK$60 for the whole trip.
An official with the Hong Kong-Guangdong Direct Bus Association, meanwhile, noted currently the direct bus lines between the airport and Shenzhen or Dongguan in Guangdong cost HK$100 to HK$150 for a two-hour drive. And he expressed worries that MTRC's free interchange scheme will make it even more difficult for the already struggling direct bus services.
■春生 資深翻譯員
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