HK's MTR don't seem to be too crowded during evening peak hour

[Froggy]

Hong Kong's MTR looks like not so crowded during peak hour. Boarded train at Jordan at 6.10pm going towards Central, look



Train frequency is less than 2 minutes interval

Also noticed that Hongkongers quite use to deliver stuff in MTR



if I have a chance tomorrow I'll check the morning crowd

 

[laksaboy]

Singapore has already overtaken Hong Kong to be the population density champion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density

 

[Untouchable]

The other day I was in Taiwan. For couples of times during their peak hours, the frequency is less than 10s - 15s, yet they never claimed to be world class leh.

 

[Froggy]

I was waiting for someone in Central station and timed the frequency it's like after each train starts to leave another arrives in about 45 to 50 seconds. Train will stop for about 20-30 seconds then go. So we're looking at a frequency of 65-80 seconds.

Wonder what's SMRT's peak hour frequency.

 

[JHolmesJr]

Amazing pic....no indians etc....takes me way back.

 

[kiss]

Amazing pic....no indians etc....takes me way back.

I went HK few weeks back. Very very few indian and fair amount of angmo...but lot of PRC

Their peak hours MTR crowds is not as crowded as SG.... our more sardine pack.

 

[eatshitndie]

I was waiting for someone in Central station and timed the frequency it's like after each train starts to leave another arrives in about 45 to 50 seconds. Train will stop for about 20-30 seconds then go. So we're looking at a frequency of 65-80 seconds.

Wonder what's SMRT's peak hour frequency.

2 mins, which is not bad. on bart, it's 15 mins. :*:

crowd therapy a couple of times a day is necessary for an insanity check.

 

[palden]

Singapore also not crowded. A rumor spread by the wayang party. Don't expect a seat to sit. Enough standing room

 

[eErotica69]

Hong Kong's MTR looks like not so crowded during peak hour. Boarded train at Jordan at 6.10pm going towards Central, look

if I have a chance tomorrow I'll check the morning crowd

Joe, try taking the train from Central to Jordon at 6.10 pm tomorrow. See whether the crowd the same or not.

Or try taking the train from Jordon to Central at 8.45 am in the morning...

 

[Qantas]

I went HK few weeks back. Very very few indian and fair amount of angmo...but lot of PRC

Their peak hours MTR crowds is not as crowded as SG.... our more sardine pack.

Our trains also lots of foreign Ah Nehs with lusty wandering eyes looking for their next opportunity to exercise their lusting hands on our charbors.

 

[Froggy]

Joe, try taking the train from Central to Jordon at 6.10 pm tomorrow. See whether the crowd the same or not.

Or try taking the train from Jordon to Central at 8.45 am in the morning...

Thanks for the suggestion buddy. I will try on Friday. Just got call that I will be picked up at 10am tomorrow so no need MTR for tomorrow.

 

[eErotica69]

Thanks for the suggestion buddy. I will try on Friday. Just got call that I will be picked up at 10am tomorrow so no need MTR for tomorrow.

Joe, no need lah. Taking train from Jordon to Central in the evening is like taking train from Sukhumvit to Sathorn at 6.10 pm.

 

[Froggy]

Joe, no need lah. Taking train from Jordon to Central in the evening is like taking train from Sukhumvit to Sathorn at 6.10 pm.

Hahahaha Thailand's MRT I took once from Rama 9 station to Rama 4 station. Remembered was 5:30pm I have to say it was jam packed. I noticed each train has very few cars unlike singapore's and hong kong's. Dumb Thais.

 

[GoldenPeriod]

Dunno why Asian metros always all packed. Ang Moh metro so much better.

Ang Moh is the best again. Ang Mohs do everything right and sui sui, Asians pack themselves like sardine fish get molested by banglas.

 

[eatshitndie]

Dunno why Asian metros always all packed. Ang Moh metro so much better.

Ang Moh is the best again. Ang Mohs do everything right and sui sui, Asians pack themselves like sardine fish get molested by banglas.

you've gotta be kidding. getting packed is not a problem. try the transit systems in the bay area, chicago, washington d.c., and new york city, or even paris. consider yourself lucky if you're pick-pocketed and don't get mugged or killed. going from point a to b is a life-risking adventure. in terms of cost, you'll be paying through your nose in london or the bay area. the systems in hk, sg, seoul, taiwan, and tokyo are some of the world's best.

 

[johnny333]

Our trains also lots of foreign Ah Nehs with lusty wandering eyes looking for their next opportunity to exercise their lusting hands on our charbors.

Ever heard the saying "Idle hands make mischief". It applies to the PAP & Ah Nehs

 

[yellowarse]

Dunno why Asian metros always all packed. Ang Moh metro so much better.

Asian cities are more densely populated. That said, Asian metros are lots safer, cleaner and far more efficient (HK, Japan, Korea, Taiwan but not S'pore) than most of the Ang Mo metros I've tried.

And HK is #1 in the world for setting the gold standard for transit management:

---

The Unique Genius of Hong Kong's Public Transportation System

By Neil Padukone

Passengers walk out of MTR railway carriage featuring Disney characters in the Sunny Bay station in Hong Kong. (Paul Yeung/Reuters)

New Yorkers are famous for complaining about the city's subway: despite an ever-increasing rise in fares, service never seems to get any better. And even still, ticket-sales still only funds part of the New York City subway system; the city still relies on supplementary taxes and government grants to keep trains running, as fares only cover about 45 percent of the day-to-day operating costs. Capital costs (system expansions, upgrades, and repairs) are an entirely different question, and require more state and federal grants as well as capital market bonds. And New York’s system is not unique: as in other cities, New York struggles to pay existing expenses and must go into debt to pay for upgrades, that is, without raising prices.Is this problem intractable? Not exactly. Take Hong Kong for example: The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Corporation, which manages the subway and bus systems on Hong Kong Island and, since 2006, in the northern part of Kowloon, is considered the gold standard for transit management worldwide. In 2012, the MTR produced revenue of 36 billion Hong Kong Dollars (about U.S $5 billion)—turning a profit of $2 billion in the process. Most impressively, the farebox recovery ratio (the percentage of operational costs covered by fares) for the system was 185 percent, the world's highest. Worldwide, these numbers are practically unheard of—the next highest urban ratio, Singapore, is a mere 125 percent.

In addition to Hong Kong, the MTR Corporation runs individual subway lines in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen in China, two lines in the London Underground, and the entire Melbourne and Stockholm systems. And in Hong Kong, the trains provide services unseen in many other systems around the world: stations have public computers, wheelchair and stroller accessibility (and the spacewithin the train to store them), glass doors blocking the tracks, interoperable touch-and-go fare payment (which also works as a debit card in local retail), clear and sensible signage, and, on longer-distance subways, first-class cars for people who are willing to pay extra for a little leg space.

How can Hong Kong afford all of this? The answer is deceptively simple: “Value Capture.”

Like no other system in the world, the MTR understands the monetary value of urban density—in other words, what economists call "agglomeration.” Hong Kong is one of the world’s densest cities, and businesses depend on the metro to ferry customers from one side of the territory to another. As a result, the MTR strikes a bargain with shop owners: In exchange for transporting customers, the transit agency receives a cut of the mall’s profit, signs a co-ownership agreement, or accepts a percentage of property development fees. In many cases, the MTR owns the entire mall itself. The Hong Kong metro essentially functions as part of a vertically integrated business that, through a "rail plus property" model, controls both the means of transit and the places passengers visit upon departure. Two of the tallest skyscrapers in Hong Kong are MTR properties, as are many of the offices, malls, and residences next to every transit station (some of which even have direct underground connections to the train). Not to mention, all of the retail within subway stations, which themselves double as large shopping complexes, is leased from MTR.

The profits from these real estate ventures, as well as that 85 percent farebox surplus, subsidize transit development: proceeds pay for capital expansion as well as upgrades. The MTR’s financial largesse means that the transit system requires less maintenance and service interruptions, which in turn reduces operating costs, streamlines capital investments, and encourages more people to use transit to get around. And more customers means more money, even if fares are relatively cheap: most commutes fall between HK $4 and HK$20 (about 50 cents to $3), depending on distance. (In London, by comparison, a Tube journey can cost as much as $18). Fare increases in Hong Kong are limited by regulations linking fares to inflation and profits, and the territory’s governmentrecently started giving a HK $600-per-month travel stipend to low-income households, defined as those earning less than HK $10,000 a month.

This model of transit management works partly because Hong Kong is a closed system: There are no suburbs from which people can commute by car, so there are strong incentives for everyone within the territory to use the system. This feature, combined with other regulations, has kept car ownership low: 6 of every 100 vehicles in Hong Kong are for personal use, whereas the number in the U.S. is closer to 70. And while the NYC subway was built over a century ago and was neglected during much of the 20[SUP]th[/SUP] century’s suburban sprawl, Hong Kong’s metro was only developed in the late 1970s. As a result, it doesn’t have to rely on signals technologies from the 1930s that are only slowly being upgraded (hence the track closures in New York).

As an independent corporation with the government serving as majority shareholder (rather than a public agency, ministry, or authority), the MTR has the freedom to develop real estate, to hire and fire who it will, and to take business-minded decisions—whereas other transit systems, including the one in New York, must deal with union contracts and legal restrictions. In Hong Kong, these value charges are often displaced onto consumers, causing real estate prices to go up a little faster than they otherwise might.

Still, value capture is a powerful idea for transit management. New York has tested the waters of this approach with its $2 billion 7-train extension to the Hudson Yards project, working with the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the project’s developers to fund the extension with property taxes from the newly served area. Dedicated taxes, too, serve a similar purpose. But fundamentally, Hong Kong’s metro succeeds because it understands that a subway system is more than just a means of transportation—it is also essential to the well-being of a city’s population and economy.

This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/09/the-unique-genius-of-hong-kongs-public-transportation-system/279528/

 

[johnny333]

Hahahaha Thailand's MRT I took once from Rama 9 station to Rama 4 station. Remembered was 5:30pm I have to say it was jam packed. I noticed each train has very few cars unlike singapore's and hong kong's. Dumb Thais.

When I 1st took the Bangkok trains a few years ago it was surprisingly empty. Obviously the service is now more popular. I find the Bangkok trains better than Spore's MRT. They have shorter waiting times, aircon is stronger, hand rail more user friendly, more ticket counters,...

 

[Yingge]

When I 1st took the Bangkok trains a few years ago it was surprisingly empty. Obviously the service is now more popular. I find the Bangkok trains better than Spore's MRT. They have shorter waiting times, aircon is stronger, hand rail more user friendly, more ticket counters,...

When the MRT is empty... It will give you the impression that the aircon is stronger and also more ticket counters... Make sense???

 

[sleaguepunter]

the EW and NS line old trains aircon really cmi. the worst time to take these two lines will be afternoon, especially when not underground, with the sun blazing, the cabins are hot and stuffy.