260 Transport
Franchised Buses
Franchised buses are the largest road-based carriers and account for 32 per cent of the total daily public transport volume. Bus services in Kowloon and the New Territories are largely provided by The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB). At year-end, the company operated 314 bus routes in Kowloon and the New Territories and 60 cross-harbour routes on its own. It also operated 29 and 21 cross- harbour routes jointly with New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) and Citybus Limited (CTB) respectively.
At year-end, KMB had a licensed fleet of 3 890 buses, of which 3 840 were air- conditioned and 2319 were wheelchair-accessible. KMB recorded 936 million passenger trips (a daily average of 2.57 million passenger trips) covering 303.79 million kilometres of roads during the year.
Bus services on Hong Kong Island are provided by NWFB and CTB. At year-end, NWFB was operating 51 bus routes on Hong Kong Island, eight in Kowloon and Tseung Kwan O and 33 cross-harbour routes, 29 of which were run jointly with KMB. It had a licensed fleet of 703 air-conditioned buses, of which 615 were wheelchair-accessible.
NWFB recorded 175 million passenger trips (a daily average of 479 900 passenger trips) covering 48.38 million kilometres of roads.
CTB operates two bus networks under two franchises. One of these covers 62 bus routes on Hong Kong Island, one bus route in the New Territories and 29 cross- harbour routes, 21 of which are operated jointly with KMB. The other franchise covers a network of 19 routes plying between the urban areas and North Lantau or the airport.
At year-end, CTB had a licensed fleet of 938 air-conditioned buses, of which 405 were wheelchair-accessible. The company recorded 220 million passenger trips (a daily average of 602 575 passenger trips) covering 86.4 million kilometres of road.
The Long Win Bus Company Limited provides services between the New Territories and Lantau Island and the airport. The company made 30.25 million passenger trips (a daily average of 82 900 passenger trips) covering 25.26 million kilometres of roads in 2011. At year-end, it ran 19 routes with a licensed fleet of 163 air-conditioned buses. All vehicles were wheelchair-accessible.
The New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited mainly provides bus services on Lantau Island. The company recorded 20.9 million passenger trips (a daily average of 57 300 passenger trips) which covered 7.02 million kilometres of road. It ran 23 routes with a licensed fleet of 104 vehicles.
Different kinds of fare concession were provided by the franchised bus companies during the year. For example, all franchised bus companies offered concessionary fares for children aged under 12 and elderly passengers on all routes (except recreational routes operated by CTB).