Bus services in Hong Kong have a long history. As of 2016, five companies operate franchised public bus services. There are also a variety of non-franchised public bus services, including feeder bus services to railway stations operated by
MTR
The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...
, and residents' services for residential estates (particularly those in the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
).
History
Current situation
Bus services in Hong Kong can be roughly divided into three types: franchised buses, non-franchised buses and public light buses.
Franchised bus
As of 2014, there are five privately owned bus companies providing
franchised bus services across Hong Kong, operating more than 700 routes with some 5,800 buses. Hong Kong is one of the few cities in the world that bus services are not operated or owned by the Government.
These are the five franchised bus companies in Hong Kong:
*
Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International.
...
Company (1933) Limited
![KMB AVBWU119 PX554@30X](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/KMB_AVBWU119_PX554%4030X.jpg)
Mainly provides service in Kowloon and New Territories, operating about 400 routes with about 3,850 buses. Some of them are cross-harbour routes, either solely operated or jointly operated with Citybus or New World First Bus.
*
Citybus Limited
![ADL-Enviro500-MMC-Citybus-Central](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/ADL-Enviro500-MMC-Citybus-Central.JPG)
Mainly provides service on Hong Kong Island, operates 108 bus routes, including 59 Hong Kong Island routes, 29 cross-harbour routes, 1 New Territories route and 19 routes to Tung Chung/Airport. It operates 957 buses.
*
Long Win Bus
Long Win Bus Company Limited (LWB; ) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It provides bus service between Hong Kong International Airport, North Lantau New Town and the New Territories. It is a subsidiary of Transport In ...
Company Limited
![LWB 1521 A41](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/LWB_1521_A41.jpg)
Mainly services Tung Chung, Disneyland Resort and routes shuttling between the Airport and New Territories, operating 19 routes with 165 buses.
*
New World First Bus
New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...
Services Limited
![ADL-Enviro500MMC-NWFB](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/ADL-Enviro500MMC-NWFB.JPG)
Mainly provides service on Hong Kong Island, and provides routes in Kowloon and
Tseung Kwan O
Tseung Kwan O New Town is one of the nine new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on reclaimed land in the northern half of Junk Bay (known as Tseung Kwan O in Chinese/Cantonese language) in southeastern New Territories, after which it is named. ...
. It operates 47 Hong Kong Island routes, 8 Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O routes and 34 cross-harbour routes. It operates with 711 buses.
*
New Lantao Bus
The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, commonly known as New Lantao Bus or NLB, is a franchised bus company operating in Hong Kong. It mainly operates bus routes on Lantau Island.
History
NLB was formed in 1973 through the merger of three b ...
Company (1973) Limited
![NLB_PS9943_2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/NLB_PS9943_2.jpg)
Mainly provides service on Lantau Island, operating 22 Lantau routes and 1 New Territories route with 108 buses.
Here are previous franchised bus companies in Hong Kong:
*
China Motor Bus
The China Motor Bus Company, Limited (), often abbreviated as CMB, is a property developer in Hong Kong. Before its franchise lapsed in 1998, it was the first motor bus operator in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-de ...
Company Limited, franchise expired in 1998
![Kaitak allview](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Kaitak_allview.jpg)
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world. KMB's fleet consists of about 3,800 buses on 400 routes and a staff of over 12,000. In 1979,
Citybus began its operation in Hong Kong with one double-decker, providing shuttle service for the Hong Kong dockyard. It later expanded into operating a residential bus route between
City One
City One Shatin () is a residential precinct in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. The estate occupies approximately of land. The estate was named City One as it is on Lot 1, Shatin Town. It has a census area population of 24,758 people. C ...
,
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.
The ne ...
and
Kowloon Tong MTR station. New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) was established in 1998, taking over
China Motor Bus
The China Motor Bus Company, Limited (), often abbreviated as CMB, is a property developer in Hong Kong. Before its franchise lapsed in 1998, it was the first motor bus operator in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-de ...
's franchise to provide bus services on
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
together with Citybus. NWFB's parent company later bought Citybus, but the two companies have basically been operating independently.
Hong Kong franchised bus routes have a fixed path, fare, service hours and schedule. Urban routes mostly operate with
double-decker bus
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...
es, which have become a distinguishing feature of Hong Kong. Passengers are required to pay their bus fare when they board the bus, and all buses accept payment by either
Octopus card or cash; however no change is given for paying by the latter. Some routes such as cross-harbour routes and Disneyland Resort routes are operated jointly by two companies. Fares are distanced-based although longer distances are comparatively cheaper than shorter distance fares on a per km basis. Hong Kong's bus fare system is based on where a passenger boards, e.g., "tap on" but not where a passenger alights, e.g., "tap off". As such, a passenger pays the entire fare upon boarding regardless of point of alighting. Many routes provide "step down fare" after a certain journey distance has been completed.
Route types
There are several types of routes including normal routes,
limited-stop
In public transit, particularly bus, tram, or train transportation, a limited-stop (or sometimes referred to as semi-fast) service is a trip pattern that stops less frequently than a local service. Many limited-stop or semi-fast services are a com ...
routes and
express
Express or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
Music
* ''Express'' ...
routes.
Non-franchised buses
The non-franchised bus services of Hong Kong are provided by different private bus companies as a means to relieve the demand on franchised buses and green public minibuses in rush hour. They also serve some remote places which are deemed non-profitable for franchised bus and green public minibus operators to serve. According to the
Transport Department
The Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong is a department of the Hong Kong Civil Service, civil service responsible for transportation-related policy in Hong Kong. The department is under the Transport and Logistics Bureau.
The Tra ...
, there were 8111 registered non-franchised buses in Hong Kong as of 13 March 2014. Generally speaking, the services are divided into the following categories:
*Tourist services (A01): Known as "Travel bus" () in daily usage, providing transport services for tourists between
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
s.
*Hotel services (A02): operated by hotels or by bus companies, providing transport services for hotel customers.
*School services (A03): operated by schools or by bus companies, providing transport services for students.
*Employee services (A04): operated by different institutes or by bus companies, providing transport services for employees.
*Residential services (A06): Known as "Estate bus" () in daily usage, they providing feeder services between new towns and urban areas; they are often applied jointly by management company of private housing estates and bus companies as a mean to carry residents from where they live to major transport interchanges.
*Contract hire services (A08): Hired by a person or groups for transport services.
On the other hand,
MTR Corporation
MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...
also operates some
feeder bus routes in
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more re ...
,
Tin Shui Wai
Tin Shui Wai New Town is a satellite town in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong. Originally a ' fish pond area, it was developed in the 1980s as the second new town in Yuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong. It is due northw ...
and
Yuen Long
Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang W ...
to complement its
Tuen Ma line
The Tuen Ma line () is a rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the map, the Tuen Ma line is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of ...
and
Light Rail services.
Public light buses
![HKIMinibus55_UD1876](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/HKIMinibus55_UD1876.jpg)
The public light buses in Hong Kong are passenger transport vehicles (
minibus
A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...
es) with a capacity of 16 or 19 passengers (19 seat minibuses were introduced in 2017). The capacity was 14 before the 1980s. They provide feeder services to buses and the railway. There are 4,350 minibuses in Hong Kong and this figure has been capped by the Transport Department as available licences.
They can be divided into two types: red public minibuses and green public minibuses. The red public minibuses, which number around 1,200 of the 4,350 do not need to operate on fixed routes or fixed schedules and may charge any fare desired, although special prohibitions apply. Green public minibuses operate on fixed routes in set frequencies stipulated by the Transport Department of Hong Kong. Other kinds of light bus services, for example, the
Nanny van
The nanny van () or school private light bus is a kind of school bus service in Hong Kong. At its peak of popularity during the 1980s, it had become a form of "illegal" public transportation. Subsequently, due to unauthorized use of the vans, the ...
transports provided by such van owners during the 1980s are considered illegal beyond their operation routes.
See also
*
History of bus transport in Hong Kong
The history of bus transport in Hong Kong began with the introduction of the first bus routes in Hong Kong in the 1920s.
History 1920s: The beginning
Bus transport in Hong Kong was started in the 1920s. Several operators were managing a number ...
*
List of bus routes in Hong Kong
The following is a list of current franchised bus routes in Hong Kong, sorted according to bus companies. All current franchised bus routes are operated by air-conditioned buses only and fares are paid through flat fares. Note that Hong Kong Isla ...
*
Hong Kong bus route numbering
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bus Services in Hong Kong