Minibus services from Hong Kong’s Whampoa to stop as coronavirus eats into company’s profits, but two routes win reprieve
- Chit Fai Motors ran minibuses from Whampoa to Kowloon Tong and Tsim Sha Tsui for around 40 years
- Its profits started to contract in 2017 after the opening of Whampoa MTR station and it lost HK$2 million as passenger numbers plunged amid pandemic
The minibus operator, Chit Fai Motors Co Ltd, announced on Thursday afternoon that it would terminate from Friday four minibus routes from Whampoa Garden to Kowloon Tong and Tsim Sha Tsui. It later agreed to prolong the services until Saturday after negotiations with the Transport Department.
But in a reprieve on Friday afternoon, the department said from Sunday another minibus operator, Kellis Limited, would temporarily run two routes heading out of Kowloon Tong.
Posting on its Facebook page a day earlier, Chit Fai Motors said: “The company will stop operating Kowloon minibus routes No 2, 2A, 6 and 6X from April 10, 2020.
“We have contacted the labour relations division from the Labour Department to assist us with the dismissal of all drivers and other employees.”
A spokeswoman from the Transport Department said on Thursday it had received a letter from Chit Fai Motors about the termination and met with its representatives for negotiation.
