New boarding arrangements at Tuen Mun Road BBI during peak hours to save more than an hour on bus waiting time

The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd. (“KMB”) started a trial on boarding arrangements at Tuen Mun Road Bus-bus Interchange (“BBI”) (Kowloon Bound) during morning peak hours since late-October by setting up a paid area at designated queuing location. Passengers can pay before they wait for the bus and be able to board directly when the bus arrived, increasing the efficiency. The new arrangements have been tested for a month with results showing the waiting time for buses to enter the BBI during morning peak hours has reduced with more than an hour. KMB believes the new arrangements can help speed up the traffic flow of Tuen Mun Road BBI and ease the congestion during morning rush hours.

Trial to set up a paid area at bus stops which passengers pay before boarding to speed up boarding time

Since late-October, KMB has tested the new boarding arrangements at the boarding platform of Route 263 [Tuen Mun Station ⇋ Sha Tin Station] in Tuen Mun Road BBI (Kowloon Bound). A paid area is set up every working days from 07:00 to 09:00 in the morning. Passengers can pay by Octopus cards or e-payment methods at the entrance first, and then enter the paid area to wait for the bus. When buses of Route 263 arrived, passengers in the paid area can save time by boarding the bus directly without paying for the bus fare again. The paid area can hold around 40 passengers, with staff to maintain order there.

After tested for about a month, the new boarding arrangements operate smoothly and successfully saves an average of about 12 seconds for each bus on their waiting time. KMB has about 380 buses serving Tuen Mun Road BBI (Kowloon Bound) every working days during the peak hours of 07:00 to 09:00 in the morning. In other words, a total of 1 hour and 16 minutes (76 minutes) have been saved during the said period. The new boarding arrangements can help all passengers using Tuen Mun Road BBI in the morning save a total of 4.2 days (6,080 minutes), assuming there are 80 passengers on each bus.

KMB Assistant Operations Director (Division 2) Kelvin Yeung said, “Every second counts in the operations at Tuen Mun Road BBI. KMB has been putting resources into ensuring a smooth operation at the BBI to further reduce passengers’ waiting time. The new measures have benefitted by reducing the bus dwelling time of Route 263, allowing two buses to board at once at the next platform as there are more rooms, with additional spaces available for platforms further behind, creating a chain effect that speeds up the boarding time needed for passengers in the entire BBI. We are also aware that some passengers occasionally find out they have insufficient value in their Octopus cards. As a result, they need more time to pay using other means. These new arrangements can help avoid similar situations from happening onboard buses of Route 263. Outdoor staff will also allow passengers to board using both bus gates for a smoother boarding passenger flow.”

KMB Head of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Department Kenny Kan said, “It has only been just a month since the new arrangements were implemented, and the result is encouraging. The feedback from our passengers are also positive. We will continue to carry out the measure at Route 263’s platform. As for other platforms, we will consider whether the actual passenger demand, location and route combinations of bus stops suit the operational need to further reduce the bus waiting time to enter the Tuen Mun Road BBI.”

Adoption of a multi-pronged approach: extra workforce, rerouteing routes and changing platform arrangements to further reduce the waiting hours

Other than setting up a paid area, KMB has also allocated extra manpower at both bounds of Tuen Mun Road BBI during peak hours to help coordinate buses entering the BBI, assist passengers in the queue and answer enquiries. All these help reduce the bus dwelling and waiting time and speed up the boarding process. KMB has also arranged some morning special departures to the urban area to observe platforms on the Castle Peak Road side of Tuen Mun Road BBI (Kowloon Bound) to shunt the buses in the morning. Signage has also been renewed to provide clearer directions for passengers when locating their buses. LWB routes plying between Tuen Mun and Airport, Tung Chung and Disneyland are diverted via Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel to reduce the traffic load of the BBI and shorten the bus waiting time to enter the bus stops in the short term.

Operated for ten years with over 40,000 people using Tuen Mun Road BBI every day

Commenced in late 2012, Tuen Mun Road BBI has been put into service for ten years. Yet developments in Tuen Mun have been carrying on with new residential areas established in the district, including So Kwun Wat and Area 54. The number of passengers rose from 20,000 daily in 2013 to 40,000 up-to-date. KMB has been introducing various new routes to meet the passenger demand, with some 45 KMB and LWB routes observing the BBI currently, compared to 20 routes only back in the days when Tuen Mun Road BBI just opened.

Nevertheless, the area of Tuen Mun Road BBI remained unchanged since its commencement even though the number of passengers and routes increased. There has been no large-scale expansion, which makes it hard to cater for the huge demand today. KMB has proposed to the Transport Department to extend the area of Tuen Mun Road BBI and its alighting area years ago to accommodate more buses. In response to the government’s suggestion to build additional loading bays at the BBI by phases, Kenny Kan said, “KMB welcomes the suggestions as it can effectively lower the bus waiting time to enter the stop in the long run and speed up the traffic flow. It also helps improve the congested traffic, and KMB hopes the arrangements can be implemented as soon as possible.”

Passengers may call the KMB Customer Service Hotline on 2745-4466 or visit KMB website www.kmb.hk or App1933 for more details.

Photo captions:

	KMB sets up a paid area at the boarding platform for Route 263. Passengers can pay by Octopus cards and e-payment methods first and enter the paid area to wait for the bus. There are outdoor staff to help maintain the order.
	When a bus on Route 263 arrives, outdoor staff may instruct passengers to board the bus via boarding or alighting gates to help speed up the process.
	To make the operations at Tuen Mun Road BBI (Kowloon Bound) more efficient during the morning peak hours, KMB has deployed extra workforce at the bus stop to maintain order and arrange two buses to board at once, speeding up the boarding time.
	KMB Assistant Operations Director (Division 2) Kelvin Yeung (Right in second picture) and Head of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Department Kenny Kan observed the new implementations and were pleased that the result is encouraging as it can effectively shorten the bus waiting time to enter the BBI.
	Other than setting up a paid area, KMB has also renewed the signage in the BBI that clearly lists the destinations of the platforms for passengers to easier locate the bus routes, as well as to familiarise those who newly moved into Tuen Mun with the operations there.