History of Bus transport in Hong Kong
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The history of bus transport in Hong Kong began with the introduction of the first bus routes in the 1920s.
History
1920s: The beginnings
Omnibus Transport in Hong Kong dates from the beginning of the last century, and by the end of the 1920s, several operators were operating a number of bus services on both side of the Victoria Harbour. The list of operators included Kowloon Motor Bus, China Motor Bus, and even the Hong Kong Tramways, serving the Happy Valley area.
However, in 1933, bus services were franchised. Rights were given to Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) on the North side, and China Motor Bus (CMB) on the Island. Other bus service operators had to stop operations and their buses were sold to the remaining operators.
1930s: Pre-war Franchise
Records are scarce due to heavy bombing by the Japanese, but some photographic and written evidence show that an extensive network of buses served both sides of the harbour. The routes covered the most remote areas of the territory at that time, such as Yuen Long, Fanling and Stanley. Buses of various British makes, such as Leyland, Thronycroft and Daimler were present in significant numbers around the territory.
1940s: During the War
During the occupation, the Japanese tried restoring bus services to normal levels, but this failed since there was no decent supply of fuel and stock. Due to the reduced resources and bus usage, routes were reduced progressively and horse-driven carts were reintroduced to the territory.
1950s: Post-war Expansion, Part one
When the British returned, they made public transport the first priority. With most new buses being shipped to Britain, both KMB and CMB had to use modified trucks instead of proper buses to transport passengers. These trucks were phased out by the end of the 1950s.
Large numbers of people returning to Hong Kong after the war, or who wanted to escape the communists caused a population boom. As a result, the demand for public transport skyrocketed and this made larger buses necessary. Kowloon Motor Bus bought about 20 Daimler double-decker buses as a trial. They turned out to be an unparalled success, just like the AEC Regents (RT) were in London. More than 1,000 orders in various specifications, including the Fleetlines, were to follow until the 1970s.
China Motor Bus chose to use more single-deck buses instead. This was because the Gardner-engined double-deckers did not perform satisfactorily given the hilly terrain, and population levels on the island were more steady and predictable. The company parted up with Guy in Wolverhampton, England and became the second major buyer of Arab-made buses after Wolverhampton Transport.
A comparison the buses on both sides of the harbour in the 1960s: The KMB buses were larger in capacity with standard engines, while those of CMB were small yet over-powered. While the KMB went for the double-decker buses, CMB chose to buy from Guy, and bought long 36-foot versions of the Arab, but with only 60% of the capacity of a 34-footer.
1960s: Post-war Expansion, Part two
The growth of Hong Kong seemed to gone out of control and squatter settlements sprang up everywhere. Areas like Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong and Chai Wan was developed at a rate that is unparalled in any other British colony. The bus network had to grow accordingly. The KMB started to call for larger double-deckers than its 30-footers (after the British lack of regulations); to their dismay, Daimler did not respond and KMB had to buy a number of 34-footers from AEC to provide a decent level of service. Daimler finally regained ground by introducing the 34-foot Daimler with the 6LX. This model found the favour of KMB, which bought about 300 of them. Soon, these behemoths (at their time) were dominating the Kowloon streets, and replaced older Daimlers in outer areas, as well as the Cross-Harbour Tunnel later on.
Meanwhile, the CMB was tackling an equally big problem. On routes 8 and 8A (and route 82 later on), buses have to travel up a hill, which includes covering a 1 km road with a gradient of 1:10. However, the small Tilling-Stevens and the Arabs which the CMB employed were not up to the challenge due to the large population of Chai Wan, and the large double-deckers used by CMB then did not have the required engine power. After considering their early success in Africa, the CMB ordered 30 36-footer single-decker buses to shift the working crowds. Those single-deckers, however, suffered from the same problem as their African siblings: They were too long, with a 10 foot overhang, 18 foot wheelbase and no upper deck to provide additional strength. The buses literally bent and their tail ends swung up and down. They were used for only 4 years before being re-bodied and cut down to standard 30-foot lengths.
At that time, even with larger buses and increase ridership, costs were still high. On KMB buses, there were 3 people employed on each bus - a driver, a fare collector and the last person supervised boarding and alighting. CMB buses had two crew on each bus, the fare collector and the door-keeper being the same person. This redundancy of manpower was soon deemed unacceptable and the bus companies replaced manual doors or open platforms with pneumatic doors, which eliminated the need for a door-keeper. However, there were no layoffs, as both bus companies were expanding and extra staff were re-deployed on new routes.
1967 Riot and the PLB Detour
Early 1970s: The Tunnels and the Towns in OMO, in joint forces with the Arabs on the peak
Late 1970s: The Fleetline and the Victory
Early 1980s: Race to the 3-axler, Dragons chasing the Mercedes
Late 1980s: Its too cool to be in a Olympian, yet cooler in a Londoner
Early 1990s: Interchanging when one saw the other's demise
This section will talk about the Advent of Bus-Bus interchange in Hong Kong, an old concept elsewhere but new in Hong Kong. It will also talk about the start of the "Culling" of CMB
Late 1990s: Survival of the Fittest
Following a number of protests, as well as some (unfounded?) critisms by the Legislative Council councillors, China Motor Bus was forced to hand 26 routes to Citybus in 1993, and another 14 routes in 1995. The public and the government were still not satisfied, however. Finally, CMB's bus franchise was terminated in 1998, and its routes went to New World First Bus and Citybus.
This section will comprise the start of the 2nd generation SLFs, like the Trident or the B10TLs; It will also include the end of the Victories and Fleetlines.
Early 2000s: On the Edge, to the scrapyard
This section is about the 2 1/2 and 3rd generation SLFs, including the Centroliner, the K94UB, the then Transbus E500 and the B9s. It shall also talk about the End of the 2nd generation rear-engined buses.