The tram is one of the things I'll miss about living here in Hong Kong. It runs on the street right outside our apartment building from around 5:30 a.m. until 1 a.m. The hum of the wheels on the tracks has gotten to be a familiar background sound. There's also the occasional "ding ding" of the bell when the driver is warning someone in the track to move.
It costs only $HK 2.3 to ride, which is $US .30, no matter how long the trip. It's only $HK 1, or $US .13, for senior citizens to ride, and many of them do. I had been under the impression that the government had to subsidize the tram line because the fare is so low, but I recently read that the company that runs it has been turning a nice profit because the exterior of each of the 162 cars and also each tram stop is advertising space. See above.
The tram line runs for around 9 miles along the northern side of Hong Kong Island on Victoria Harbor. We live at the far western end of the line. Since the island is so mountainous most everything that humans have built here is clustered down fairly close to the harbor, so you can take the tram to get most anywhere and not have too long a walk to get to your destination.
Here's the interior, with wood trim, cozy seating, and windows you can slide up and down. Most of the time passengers seem to like the windows open for fresh air, even when it's cool in the wintertime. That's fine with me, because people are packed in fairly tightly sometimes. I like taking the winding staircase on the right to the upper deck, where it's easier to see outside and where the bucket seats are a little more comfortable. Actually I bring something to read much of the time when I ride now, because I've traveled the route enough times that the scenery isn't so novel anymore, and it can be kind of a slow trip sometimes.
In a few more days I'll be back to driving a car to get most everywhere. I don't think I've missed it, but maybe once I'm behind the wheel again I'll wonder what I thought was so great about the tram.
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