MAINTAINING PASSENGER NUMBERS - DELIVERING OUR BEST

The MTR network is designed to meet our customers' needs. For our rail operations, this means the provision of equitable access to affordable, safe, useful and reliable transportation, while continually reducing our consumption of non-renewable resources, the noise we generate and our emissions to air and water.



The reliability and punctuality of MTR trains is unaffected by road traffic or weather conditions. Our trains run 19 hours a day, 7 days a week, from 06h00 to 01h00. During rush hours, trains can become crowded and passengers may wait to board the next train. The high frequency of our trains means that passengers need to wait two to three minutes during peak hours on the Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Island Line, and Tseung Kwan O Line and an average of four minutes on the Tung Chung Line. The Airport Express runs at 10 - 15 minutes interval for the whole day. This level of service has resulted in consistently high numbers of passengers using the MTR network.

The MTR Customer Service Pledge sets demanding quantitative targets across 12 areas of performance including train punctuality, reliability and cleanliness. Over the course of 2001, 2002 and 2003, we achieved all 12 of our Customer Service Pledges. Recent MTR passenger surveys involving more than 30,000 individual questionnaires from Coffee Evenings, the Liaison Train and other and other customer related activities have shown that the three most important factors for passengers are train headway (i.e.: time between trains), safety and reliability. Passenger safety is discussed in later sections. Key data on train headway is presented on page 20 of MTR Annual Report 2003. Operational results in terms of reliability are illustrated in table below.

In addition we maintain passenger numbers with specific programs, some of which are outlined below.

• We continue to renovate our stations to make a better environment for passengers with new shops and facilities (e.g. Internet Centres);

• We implemented a series of activities including a bonus point program encouraging higher usage - the MTR Club Vow Fun Program; and

• We continue to offer discounts to elders and children for both Airport Express and Urban Lines. Fare savers were also installed at various shopping malls and other locations to offer HK$2 dollar discounts passengers. Lastly, intermodal discounts were extended to passengers taking MTR and connecting to and from other modes of transportation like minibuses.