Whether you are a friend of Hong Kong immigration or a friend visiting Hong Kong, it is essential to understand the public transport system in Hong Kong. Let’s take a look at the buses in Hong Kong.
Currently, there are five main franchised bus companies providing public transport services in urban areas of Hong Kong: Citybus, Kowloon Motor Bus, New World First Bus, Long Win Bus, and New Lantao Bus. Citybus and New World First Bus mainly operate routes on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Motor Bus primarily serves routes in Kowloon and the New Territories, Long Win Bus mainly operates bus services between the urban area and the airport as well as North Lantau, while New Lantao Bus operates routes within Lantau Island. The cross-harbour tunnel bus routes between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon are jointly operated by Citybus, New World First Bus, and Kowloon Motor Bus.
The vast majority of bus routes use double-decker buses. One reason for this is that double-decker buses have a higher passenger capacity, and another reason is that they effectively reduce road occupancy, increasing the available road space. However, this has also objectively led to fewer buses on certain routes, resulting in longer waiting times for passengers. Nevertheless, with the improvement in road traffic speeds, these issues have been effectively alleviated.
The bus route numbers in Hong Kong can be categorized into "Hong Kong Island Bus Route Numbers", "Kowloon and New Territories Route Numbers", "Lantau Island Bus Route Numbers", "Kowloon-Canton Railway Bus Route Numbers", "Cross-Harbour Tunnel Bus Route Numbers", and "Airport and North Lantau External Bus Route Numbers". These six numbering systems are independent of each other; for example, there are separate Route 1, Route 2, etc., in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and Lantau Island. Please note: the routes starting with the letter A in the Kowloon-Canton Railway Bus are not airport bus routes, but rather bus lines that assist the light rail.
