Kowloon Motor Bus
Type	Bus Company
Founded	Sir Tang Shiu-kin (鄧肇堅) William Louey Sui Tak (雷瑞德) Choy Wai Hung Lui Leung (雷亮) Tam Woon Tong (譚煥堂) Lam Ming Fan (林明勳) This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ...
Headquarters	Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB; Chinese: 九龍巴士(1933)有限公司), a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world. For its franchised service in Hong Kong, KMB operates a fleet consisting of about 4,300 buses on 420 routes and employs a staff of over 13,000. In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon refers to the urban area made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutters Island in the west, Tates Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

History

Oldest double decker of KMB bus preserved, starting serving in 1949

The world's first A/C double decker bus which belongs to KMB.

KMB was founded on 13 April 1933 as a result of the reformation of public transport by the then-British colonial government of Hong Kong. Before the reformation, there were several independent bus operators working on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1000x678, 176 KB) kmb *Daimler CVG5 Daimler CVG5 Body Builder~Metal Sections Engine~Gardner 5LW Gearbox~Wilson Camera~Nikon F401X Zoom~NIKON 35-70mm f/3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1000x678, 176 KB) kmb *Daimler CVG5 Daimler CVG5 Body Builder~Metal Sections Engine~Gardner 5LW Gearbox~Wilson Camera~Nikon F401X Zoom~NIKON 35-70mm f/3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata DX2437!42A-G.jpg‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Kowloon Motor Bus Kowloon Motor Bus Fleet Numbering Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... Image File history File linksMetadata DX2437!42A-G.jpg‎ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Kowloon Motor Bus Kowloon Motor Bus Fleet Numbering Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or... The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China (Chinese: 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區政府; see pronunciation; conventional short name Hong Kong Government, 香港政府), led by the Chief Executive is responsible for the administration of Hong Kong. ... Victoria Harbour The night view of the Victoria Harbour with the skyscrapers in Central behind, viewed from Tsim Sha Tsui Victoria Harbour (Traditional Chinese: 維多利亞港; Simplified Chinese: 维多利亚港; Cantonese Jyutping: wai4 do1 lei6 aa3 gong2; Mandarin Pinyin: Wéiduōlìyà Gǎng) is the harbour between the Kowloon Peninsula and the...

The KMB franchise allowed for the operation of public omnibus service on the Kowloon side, as well as the New Territories. By 11 June 1933, KMB had a fleet of 106 single deck buses. In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon refers to the urban area made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutters Island in the west, Tates Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and... A major road, Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, a town in the New Territories. ...

The founding members of KMB were:

• Sir Tang Shiu-kin (鄧肇堅)
• William Louey Sui Tak (雷瑞德)
• Choy Wai Hung
• Lui Leung (雷亮)
• Tam Woon Tong (譚煥堂)
• Lam Ming Fan (林明勳)

By 1940, KMB had 140 single-deckers operating on 17 routes. After World War II, only a handful of buses survived, and therefore some lorries were converted into buses. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

By the late 1940s, KMB ridership increased with the huge influx of immigration after the war. In 1949, KMB bought 20 Daimler double-deckers from England, becoming the first operator to operate double-deckers in Hong Kong. Daimler has, since 1896, been the motor car marque of the British Daimler Motor Company, based in Coventry. ... Double-decker bus next to a Ferrari A double-decker is a bus, aeroplane, train, tram, ferry or any public transit vehicle that has two levels for passengers, one deck above the other. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ...

Following the opening of the Cross Harbour Tunnel in 1972, a number of cross harbour routes was jointly operated by KMB with China Motor Bus, the sole bus operator on Hong Kong Island. With the tunnels, KMB service expanded from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. At the same time, KMB experimented with buses operating without fare collector (also referred to as One Man Operated). The area around the entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel in the 1970s. ... China Motor Bus Company Ltd. ... The night view of the Island side as seen from the Kowloon side - the opposite side of the Victoria Harbour Hong Kong Island (Traditional Chinese: 香港島; Simplified Chinese: 香港岛; Cantonese Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 dou2; Mandarin Pinyin: Xiānggǎngdǎo) is the island where the colonial settlement of the Hong Kong territory...

In 1975, the first air-conditioned bus in Hong Kong was put into service by KMB. Following the testing of the double-decked air-conditioned bus in early 1980s (Victory and Jubilant), KMB became the world's first air-conditioned double-decker operator. Today 90 per cent of KMB bus fleet is air-conditioned. Note: in the broadest sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. ... Leyland Victory Mk2 is a front-engine double-decker bus chassis built by Leyland between 1978 and 1981. ... The Dennis Jubilant was a front engine double decker bus chassis built by Dennis between 1977 and 1981. ...

In 1996, KMB formed a subsidiary named Long Win Bus Company on Lantau Link with service to the new Hong Kong International Airport and Tung Chung. Long Win Bus Company Limited (龍運巴士) provides bus services for northern Lantau Island (Tung Chung new town and Hong Kong Disneyland) and the Hong Kong International Airport. ... The Lantau Link, formerly known as the Lantau Fixed Crossing, is a series of infrastructures linking Hong Kong International Airport to the urban areas. ... Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) (Chinese: , Mandarin pinyin: XiānggÇŽng Guójì JÄ«chÇŽng, Cantonese jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 gwok3 zai3 gei1 coeng4) is the principal airport in Hong Kong. ... Location of Tung Chung in relation to the rest of Lantau Island Tung Chung is a growing township situated on the north-western coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong, China. ...

Starting from 1998, KMB extended her network into mainland China when a co-operative joint venture - Dalian Hong Kong Macau Company Limited, started its operation.

Innovations

KMB is the first franchised bus company in Hong Kong that achieved the following:

• Air-conditioning franchised bus service (early 1975)
• First super-low-floor (SLF) double deckers in the world (1997)
• ISO 'Quality Systems' throughout its entire organisation (1999)
• ISO 9001:2000 certification (2001)

ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ... ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ...

Fare

A passenger pays fare by either cash (no change given) or an Octopus card, a smart card fare collection system used in Hong Kong. Discounts apply for Octopus users on specified interchange combinations. Generally fare decreases as the passenger boards the bus at stops closer to the end of the route. Obverse side of a standard adult card. ... Smart card used for health insurance in France. ...

Fleet

In 2005, Kowloon Motor Bus has a fleet of over 4,300 buses with over 80% of the fleet being double-deckers and of that, around 90% of the double-deck fleet is air-conditioned:

The KMB Fleet is allocated and spread across four major depots across Kowloon and the New Territories and is identified by letter (either K, L, S or U). These letters are placed on the bottom left of the driver's windscreen, although some of the buses in the fleet still have the letter placed under the windscreen. In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon refers to the urban area made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutters Island in the west, Tates Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and... A major road, Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, a town in the New Territories. ...

• K: Formerly Kwun Tong Depot, Currently Kowloon Bay Depot
• L: Lai Chi Kok Depot
• S: Sha Tin Depot
• U: Formerly Un Long(Yuen Long) Depot, currently Tuen Mun Depot

For the fleet numbering system, see Kowloon Motor Bus Fleet Numbering. Kwun Tong (觀塘; originally 官塘; Jyutping: gwun1 tong4; Cantonese IPA: ) is an area in Kwun Tong District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. ... Kowloon Bay (九龍灣) is a bay located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. ... Lai Chi Kok (荔枝角) is an area in Sham Shui Po District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. ... Shing Mun River and Lek Yuen Bridge (瀝源橋). Sha Tin ( also spelt Shatin ) is an area in the New Territories, in the Hong Kong special administrative region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The town centre of Yuen Long Town Yuen Long or Yuen Long Town (Chinese: 元朗, formerly, Un Long) was a traditional market town in the area known as Yuen Long Kau Hui in present-day, within the Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong. ... Yuen Long (元朗, Jyutping: jyun4 long5, pinyin: Yuánlǎng) (used to be known as Un Long), one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, located in the North-West of the New Territories, is a post-war new town set in the centre of Hong Kongs largest alluvial plain. ... Tuen Mun (屯門) is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. ... Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) of Hong Kong maintains a system to code her fleet. ...

For more information about the bus fleet, see Kowloon Motor Bus Fleet. Collection of KMB bus models, from past to present. ...

Routes

Most of KMB routes are mainly concentrated on Kowloon and the New Territories, its major service area. It also operates cross-harbour tunnel routes with other Hong Kong bus operators, New World First Bus and Citybus. In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon refers to the urban area made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutters Island in the west, Tates Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and... A major road, Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, a town in the New Territories. ... Victoria Harbour The night view of the Victoria Harbour with the skyscrapers in Central behind, viewed from Tsim Sha Tsui Victoria Harbour (Traditional Chinese: 維多利亞港; Simplified Chinese: 维多利亚港; Cantonese Jyutping: wai4 do1 lei6 aa3 gong2; Mandarin Pinyin: Wéiduōlìyà Gǎng) is the harbour between the Kowloon Peninsula and the... New World First Bus Services Limited (First Bus, or NWFB) was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Buss franchise on 1 September 1998 to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus. ... Citybus is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. ...

The route numbers are grouped under a logical order, with the hundreds digit being the type of the route, the tens digit being the area coverage of the route, and the ones being the specific route. There are no zeros leading. English characters are added in front of or behind the route number to differentiate routes of different natures such as overnight or express, or to differentiate routes of similar routing yet with different destinations.

The route number system is quite similar to routes on the Hong Kong Island side of the harbour, yet the numbers on the two sides are non-exclusive. Another set of numbering is used by the New Lantao Bus, which makes there are three Bus Route 1 in Hong Kong (and more if you include the minibuses). The night view of the Island side as seen from the Kowloon side - the opposite side of the Victoria Harbour Hong Kong Island (Traditional Chinese: 香港島; Simplified Chinese: 香港岛; Cantonese Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 dou2; Mandarin Pinyin: Xiānggǎngdǎo) is the island where the colonial settlement of the Hong Kong territory... New Lantao Bus Co. ...

On some cross-harbour routes, buses (typically the older buses) will display a red background on the route information sign so that passengers will know right away that the bus is serving cross-harbour route.

For bus stop signs, route numbers are generally shown in black font with white background. Special colours will be used for specific categories of routes, which include:

• White font with red background: Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Crossing Routes
• White font with green background: Western Harbour Crossing Routes
• White font with black background: Overnight Routes

KMB is the sole operator of most of its routes, but some cross-harbour routes are jointly operate with either Citybus or New World First Bus. No new co-operated routes have been introduced since and there are no plans for any more. Toll plaza of Cross Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom Kowloon Entrance of XHT The area around the entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel at the Island side in the 1970s, when the tunnel was being contructed. ... Entrance to Eastern Harbour Crossing at Cha Kwo Ling with tollgates EHC redirects here. ... The Western Harbour Crossing (abbreviation WHC; Chinese: 西區海底隧道) is an underwater tunnel in Hong Kong. ... Citybus is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. ... New World First Bus Services Limited (First Bus, or NWFB) was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Buss franchise on 1 September 1998 to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus. ...

KMB currently operates over 400 routes in Hong Kong, see list of bus routes in Hong Kong for details. The following is a list of current bus routes in Hong Kong, sorted according to bus companies. ...

Rivals

• New World First Bus and Citybus - owned by NWS Transport Services Limited
• China Motor Bus - lost franchise to New World First Bus in 1998

New World First Bus Services Limited (First Bus, or NWFB) was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Buss franchise on 1 September 1998 to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus. ... Citybus is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. ... China Motor Bus Company Ltd. ...

See also

• Transportation in Hong Kong
• RoadShow (A Transport International subsidiary company providing TV broadcast on buses)
• List of Hong Kong companies
• The Bus Uncle (An incident that took place on a Kowloon Motor Bus and became an Internet phenomenon)

The territory of Hong Kong has a highly developed and sophisticated transportation network, encompassing both public and private transport. ... RoadShow（路訊通, formerly known as 資訊娛樂共同睇 [paraphrased as Integrated View of Information and Entertainment]） is a Multi-Media On Board (MMOB) service on transit vehicles in Hong Kong. ... Categories: Companies of Asia | Companies of China | Hong Kong ... The Bus Uncle The Bus Uncle (Chinese: 巴士阿叔) is a Cantonese video clip capturing a verbal altercation aboard a bus in Hong Kong on April 27, 2006. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kowloon Motor Bus

• KMB Home Page
• Park Island Transport Co., Ltd.
• NA Transit - Kowloon Motor Bus (1933)
• Start At Bus - Hong Kong Buses
• Bus Fan World