Bus giant goes distance to help commuters save

KMB passengers traveling within Yuen Long, Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai will save up to HK$14.10 under a new scheme.

To facilitate travel within the three districts, KMB has introduced Hong Kong's first regional two-way sectional fare scheme in the northern New Territories, which provides rebates for those taking long-haul buses from the three districts to urban areas but get off within a short distance.

"We introduce this pilot scheme as we do not have many short-haul buses in the districts," said operational planning head Gary Leung Ling-yin.

The scheme will apply to 17 bus routes, starting from August 8. Octopus card readers, with stickers labeled "Octopus section fare," will be set up at 28 bus stops across the districts.

"Due to technical issues, we could only set up card readers at bus stops that have power supply and better signal connection," said Kelvin Yeung Chun-wai, division manager of operations in NT West. The 17 routes include 58M, 58X, 63X, 68A, 68X, 69M, 69X, 260X, 268B, 268C, 268X, 269B, 269C, 269D, 276, 276A and 276P.

Passengers can receive rebates within 90 minutes after boarding by tapping their Octopus card at designated bus stops when getting off. Half-fare concession will still be provided to seniors aged 65 or above and children aged below 12.

"It is hard to estimate the number of passengers who will benefit we believe it could cater to most current passengers," Yeung said.

Taking route 268C as an example, the full fare from Long Ping station to Kwun Tong ferry pier is HK$18.40. If passengers get off in Yuen Long, they would receive a HK$14.10 refund, paying only HK$4.30 for the trip.

"We will pay close attention to the reaction to the scheme. If a lot of passengers opt for KMB because of the scheme, we will look into the possibility of introducing short-haul routes within the districts," Yeung said, with KMB to review the scheme's effectiveness in the coming months.

Since the pandemic began, KMB's passenger volume has dropped by over 40 percent. It has adjusted route frequencies in the past two weeks, with no more than a five-minute delay during peak hours and daytime non-peak hours and delays of under 10 minutes during off-peak hours at night.

"We might consider increasing the number of bus stops within the northern New Territories or expanding it to Northern district or Tai Po but as of now, we do not have a timetable on it," Leung said.