Kowloon Motor Bus

:"KMB" redirects here. For the record label, see KMB Jazz."Infobox Company
company_name=Kowloon Motor Bus
company_logo=
company_type=Bus Company (Public, SEHK: 0062, Transport Int'l)
foundation=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)
location_city= Kowloon, Hong Kong
location_country =China
Location=

The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB; zh-c|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.

History

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.

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.

The founding members of KMB were:
* Sir Tang Shiu-kin (鄧肇堅)
* William Louey Sui Tak (雷瑞德)
* Ng See Cherng
* 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

In 1999, KMB started to operate some of the KCR Feeder Bus (now MTR Feeder Bus) routes, which are complimentary free services of the HK-MTR lines|East Rail (previously KCR East Rail).

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)

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. [cite web|url=http://www.kmb.hk/english.php?page=search&file=bbi-table.html|title=Bus-Bus Interchange System|publisher=Kowloon Motor Bus|date=2007|accessdate=2007-12-06] Generally, the bus fare decreases as the passenger boards the bus at stops closer to the end of the route.

Response to the railway merger

In response to the railway merger of Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) and Mass Transit Railway (MTR), KMB has "coincidentally" (on the same day as the merger) launched a major interchange fare reduction scheme. [cite web|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=57725&sid=16492151&con_type=1&d_str=20071128&sear_year=2007|title=KMB fares cut on day trains reduce prices|publisher=The Standard|date=2007|accessdate=2007-12-06] Operations Director Tim Ip has denied that KMB has been thinking of strategies to counter the fare reduction of the railway merger. Many people think it is obvious (since the 9 percent fare hike) that they're trying to find an effective way to grab passengers back.

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. More than 3,460 buses, including those running on busy corridors, are equipped with environment-friendly Euro engines.

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.
* 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."

"For more information about the bus fleet, see Kowloon Motor Bus Fleet."

Facilities

KMB buses are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. Newer buses, like the Enviro500, have coloured CCTV cameras installed whereas older buses use a mirror. Bus stop announcement systems installed in every bus informs passengers of the next stop. Samsung LCD TVs with programs are also available on most air-conditioned buses. These programs are provided by RoadShow.

Routes

KMB routes are mainly concentrated on Kowloon and in the New Territories, and these routes are served solely by KMB. It also operates cross-harbour tunnel routes in cooperation with two other Hong Kong bus operators, New World First Bus and Citybus.

"KMB currently operates over 400 routes in Hong Kong. See list of bus routes in Hong Kong for details."

Route numbering system

Route numbers consist of a number, optionally preceded by or followed by a letter. If the number has one or two digits, the following numbering scheme is observed:

The leading letter N indicates that the route is an overnight route.

Route numbers 1-99 and 2xx used by KMB can also be used by Citybus or New World First Bus for routes on the Hong Kong Island, or by the New Lantau Bus on the Lantau Island. The rest of the routes are unique within Hong Kong.

KMB has no 5xx (Hong Kong Island, special service), 7xx (Express bus using the Island Corridor), or Axx or Exx (service to the airport). KMB does not use Mxx to designate buses serving an Airport Express station.

Recent criticism

News media

In September 2007, KMB has submitted a proposal to the government for a 9 percent fare hike. [cite web|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=12&art_id=53099&sid=15287519&con_type=1|title=Kowloon Motor Bus seeks 9pc fare hike|publisher=The Standard|date=2007|accessdate=2007-12-06] But the move has drawn fire from lawmakers and critics who called the proposed increases "unacceptable" and "too high" and have recently protested on the streets. KMB's chief executive replies "KMB has not raised fares since December 1997". Also, they claim that the surging operating costs and other factors such as consumer prices, wages and productivity is forcing them to propose the fare hike. KMB's competitors (see below) reply to this action by saying they are also under pressure from high operating costs due to fuel prices and salary increases. "But we've no plans to apply for a pay rise at present. We'll monitor the situation closely and will try various means to bring operation costs down," said the spokeswoman for Citybus and New World First Bus services.

Buses

KMB is also criticized for its environmental hygiene, the bus captains do not take much notice of eating or drinking on buses. Regularly, soda/beer cans are found rolling around on the ground.Fact|date=March 2008 In addition, profanity are found on the back seats (quiet zone), KMB has even launched an announcement on its electronic bus stop announcement system to say that "Scribbling is against the law and should not be found on buses".Fact|date=March 2008

KMB has also bought many Neoplan Centroliners(with Cummins Engine), which many passengers find noisy and vulnerable to breakdowns.Fact|date=March 2008

Football team

Kowloon Motor Bus also had a defunct Hong Kong football club Kowloon Motor Bus Co.. It was formed in 1947 and joined Hong Kong First Division League in 1947-48 season. Nicknamed "Atomic Bus", the team obtained the only two league titles in 1953-54 and 1966-67. The team attained its peak in the 1950s and 1960s when the "South China - Kowloon Motor Bus Co. crash" (南巴大戰) was one of the highlighted rival matches in Hong Kong. In 1970-71, the team faced their first relegation, but was able to stay in the First Division as Jardines quit the league in the following season. However, the team still got relegated 2 years later in 1972-73. It made its last First Division League appearance in 1976-77 when they relegated immediately after being newly promoted. In 1981, the football team quit the league.

Competitors

* New World First Bus and Citybus - owned by NWS Transport Services Limited
* China Motor Bus - lost franchise to New World First Bus in 1998
* Mass Transit Railway - the railway system in Hong Kong

Trivia

*KMB is the one of the only bus companies of Hong Kong (along with Long Win Bus) to install the electronic Bus Stop Announcement System, which makes life easier for both residents and tourists.

*The most frequent bus route in KMB is route 273 (Wah Ming Estate-Fanling MTR Station Circular), which buses depart at 1-minute intervals during rush hour.

*The longest travelling route in KMB is route 373A from Wah Ming Estate to Wan Chai (Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre) through Fanling Highway and route 3, with the length of 52.3 km.

*The most expensive route is 869 (a racecourse route), costing $38 for a trip from Tin Shui Wai to Sha Tin Racecourse. The cheapest route is 71B, with the cost of $1.6.

ee also

* The Bus Uncle (An incident that took place on a Kowloon Motor Bus and became an internet phenomenon)
* RoadShow (A Transport International subsidiary company providing TV broadcast on buses)
* Transport in Hong Kong

References

Inline

General

* 香港足球總會九十週年紀念特刊

External links

* [http://www.kmb.hk/ KMB Home Page]