Category: Buses

Close shave! Bus, taxi in dramatic near-miss (video)

A taxi dashcam has recorded a heartstopping near-miss with a New Lantao Bus.

The number 11 bus was travelling from Tung Chung toward Tai O at 2:47pm Friday when it overtook a cement truck on a bend, oblivious to the taxi coming from the other direction.

The two vehicles came to a near-halt with metres to spare.

The location of the incident is not clear, but it appears to be on South Lantau Road west of Shui Hau .

The video, posted on Plaxtonl’s Bus Facebook page, attracted a number of comments mocking the safety of NLB services.

A customer service staff member told the Oriental Daily that the NLB would take disciplinary action against the driver.

Lantau has Hong Kong’s most reliable bus fleet

Lantau has Hong Kong’s best-performing bus fleet, according to Transport Department figures.

Every year for the past five years, New Lantao Bus (NLB) vehicles have recorded the lowest number of breakdowns of any of the city’s six franchised bus fleets.

Last year NLB’s 121 buses recorded 12.6 breakdowns for every million kilometres travelled. The next best was Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB), at 17.4, and the worst was New World First Bus (NWFB), with 52.6.

NLB has the smallest bus fleet, but the level of breakdowns doesn’t seem to be related to size. KMB is by far the biggest operator, with 3,916 buses, but NWFB, consistently the lowest performer, has just 691.

The Transport Dept suggests it may be connected to the amount of uphill and downhill and the road quality – but that would favour most urban buses over the Lantau vehicles.  Perhaps it is also related to how the buses run on the route. Lantau buses may have steeper hills but they spend limited periods idling in traffic.

However, the fact that the reliability performance for each of the operators is relatively consistent over the years suggests internal maintenance practices are also a factor.

Source: Transport Dept

Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, also told Legco Wednesday that franchised passenger buses are required to be retired from service after 18 years. In the coming five years KMB would replace 1225, New World First Bus 118 and New Lantao Bus Company 35 buses respectively.

Bus company and driver sued over fatal Tung Chung accident

The estate of a man fatally struck by a bus in Tung Chung last year is sueing the bus company and the driver.

A 38-year-old chef, Ng Konghung, was hit by a no. 34 mini-bus while crossing the road outside the Ngong Ping 360 cable station on January 24 last year.  The driver was given a suspended four-month sentence and fined $5000.

Ng’s estate filed in the High Court earlier this week, seeking damages from Kwoon Chung Motors – the owner of the New Lantao 1973 Bus Company – and the driver, Oriental Daily reported.

Suspended sentence for bus driver over Tung Chung death

A 63-year-old Lantau bus driver has given a suspended four-month jail sentence and fined HK$5,000 over the death of a pedestrian in Tung Chung.

The driver of a no. 34 New Lantau Bus Co. vehicle hit and killed a 38-year-old man crossing the road in Yat Tung on January 24.

The court found the driver’s view had been obscured by the vehicle permits on the windscreen, Apple Daily reported. In court, the driver’s lawyer said in the wake of the incident he had been undergoing counselling and had stopped driving, suffering a loss of income as a result.

The judge said the death of a man in his prime was a “tragedy” but there was no evidence the driver was exceeding the speed limit. He imposed a four-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, banned him from driving for two years and fined him HK$5,000.

Double decker buses to trial on South Lantau

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The New Lantao Bus Co (NLB) is considering a trial of double decker buses on South Lantau to cope with an expected spike in population

Deputy general manager Benny Chan said the company was in discussion with the Transport Dept on testing two-decked vehicles on the 3M route between Tung Chung and Mui Wo.

He said the plan was still in its early stages, and no timetable has been set. If it does go ahead, he said most likely it would be divided into two phases – first on Tung Chung Rd only and then on South Lantau Rd. Continue reading →

Chef hit by Tung Chung bus dies in hospital

A 38-year-old man died in North Lantau Hospital after being struck by a bus on Sunday morning.

The man, surnamed Ng, wascrossing Yat Tung Rd near the Tung Chung bus terminal when he was struck by the no. 34 bus and dragged underneath the vehicle, sustaining serious injuries.

Ng, who worked as a chef at Discovery Bay, was listening to music through earphones as he crossed the road, Apple Daily reported.

Police arrested the 63-year-old bus driver on suspicion of dangerous driving.

They have appealed for witnesses to contact investigating officers on 3661 1300.