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Behind the wheel with Star Ferry's coxswain
We take a trip on the iconic Hong Kong ferry to see where it's been and where it's headed, as passenger numbers plummet
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It's a miserable rainy morning aboard the 45-year-old Silver Star, but Star Ferry Chief Coxswain Chan Tsu-wing doesn't seem phased by the weather. "I've done this too many times to count," he says as he pilots the ferry away from its dock in Tsim Sha Tsui.
 As he speaks, a wave crashes against the ferry's hull. The waters have gotten rougher over the years as more land was reclaimed and the harbor became narrower. Chan has watched as the buildings around the harbor have nibbled away at the water. "I used to be able to see dolphins in the harbour," he says. Reclamation has chipped away at the ferry's ridership. Six boats used to ply the waters each rush hour, but now only four make the journey. "If it weren't for the mainland tourists," Chan starts without finishing his sentence, the implication obvious: these days, it's the tourists who are keeping the Star Ferry afloat.
 That wasn't always the case. Even after the MTR and Cross-Harbour Tunnel opened in the late 1970s, the Star Ferry was a popular way for office workers to get across the harbor. Three years ago, however, the Central Star Ferry pier was relocated, adding five minutes onto the walk from Central to the pier. Ridership tumbled by 18 percent and it continues to decline. Now a plan to relocate the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry bus terminus threatens to cut the number of riders even more.
 Though its popularity with tourists has saved it from the scrapyard, most of the Star Ferry's riders are commuters as it remains the most affordable way to cross the harbor. Over the past year, community activists have launched a campaign to stop the relocation of the bus terminus, arguing that the ferry's value to Hong Kong's heritage rests with its usefulness -- something that would be lost if it becomes a glorified harbor tour.
 The government has said that the loss of commuters will be compensated by the relocation of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum to Central Ferry Pier 8 and the construction of a new tourist-friendly piazza outside the Tsim Sha Tsui pier. But many are sceptical that making the ferry more of a tourist attraction will do it any good. "It will never be enough," says a spokesperson for the Star Ferry Company, which has been pushing for the government to subsidize its operations the way it does ferry services to the outlying islands.
 Back on the Silver Star, Chan pulls the ferry into the dock at Wan Chai, peering out the window as his crew moors the boat. "The more I do this, the more I appreciate my job," he says. Whether Hong Kong cares enough about the Star Ferry to save it from irrelevance is another question. |
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