An assessment of competitive tendering in the Hong Kong ferry sector: passengers' view

Ferries constitute a vital part of the Hong Kong transportation system. In 1998, competitive tenders were conducted in the Hong Kong ferry sector in order to improve the quality of ferry service such as increased capacity, new ferries, increased frequencies and extended opening hours. The cost-and-benefit analysis associated with these major improvements in the quality of services indicated that the tender competitions produced significant cost savings to the passengers. The concept of cost-and-benefit analysis is further extended to a regression model of multiple variables, when several variables may play a part. Surveys were conducted to identify additional variables that were important to passengers. Regression analysis was then carried out to assess the competitive tendering in term of passengers' benefits. It has been found the passengers were benefited from the competitive tendering exercises.