Getting about by bus in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has many forms of public transport, one of which is the elaborate bus services, which are safe for residents and tourists to use. There are franchised and non-franchised bus services that are authorized and recommended for passenger use. However, the government discourages the use of unauthorized bus services as the vehicle upkeep may be out of date and their insurance may not be valid rendering them unsafe for public transportation.

City Bus
Citybus Limited is one of the franchised bus operators on Hong Kong Island. It 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. Fares range from $2.5 to $10.6 for Hong Kong Island routes and $3.5 to $48 for Airport and North Lantau routes. As at 31 July 2013, Citybus had 946 licensed buses. In 2012, it carried about 621,000 passengers a day.

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• Skipping the traffic and taking a ferry

• Seeing Hong Kong at your leisure and taking a cab

• Getting out and about by public transport

New World First Bus
The New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) operates 49 Hong Kong Island routes, 8 Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O routes and 33 cross-harbour routes. Fares for Hong Kong Island routes range from $3.2 to $9.8 and Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O routes range from $3.4 to $10.0. 

Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) operates 315 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories and 60 routes on cross-harbour services. Fares for urban routes range from $2.9 to $12.2, and for New Territories routes, from $1.8 to $42.
With a licensed fleet of about 3,800 buses (as at 31 December, 2012), mostly double-deckers, KMB is one of the largest road passenger transport operators in southeast Asia.

Long Win Bus
Long Win Bus Company Limited provides franchised bus services to North Lantau and the Airport. It operates 19 routes with fares ranged from $3.5 to $30.9. As at 31 December 2012, Long Win had 165 licensed buses.

New Lantao Bus
The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (NLB) operates 22 Lantau routes and 1 New Territories route. Fares range from $3.1 to $43.0. As at 31 December 2012, NLB had 108 licensed single-deck buses. The greatest traffic occurs during summer and on Sundays and public holidays due to recreational demands.

For more information on bus services, times and routes please visit the Department of Transport Hong Kong. 

Non-Franchised Bus Services (NFB)

The role of NFBs is to supplement the mass carriers. The supplementary role of NFBs include:
(a) relieving heavy demand on the franchised bus and green minibus services primarily during the peak hours; and
(b) filling gaps of passenger demand which cannot be met viably by the regular public transport services.

There are eight types of public NFB service, namely:
- Tour Service
- Hotel Service
- Student Service
- Employees’ Service
- International Passenger Service
- Residents’ Service
- Multiple Transport Service
- Contract Hire Service

Please do not make use of unauthorised NFB services. These unauthorised services may not have valid insurance to protect passengers’ interest when they are involved in accidents.  As a smart NFB passenger, you should check against the legality of the NFB services, especially those Residents’ Services before you make use of it.  You can find out the service details of Residents’ Services that are approved by the Transport Department through the following link:

List of approved Residents’ Services 

If you find NFB services that may be unauthorised, please call 1823 to contact the Transport Department.

For more information on setting up an NFB service click here>>